* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [CALL TO ORDER] [00:00:06] EVERYONE. I'M GONNA CALL THIS MEETING TO ORDER. THIS IS THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION. TODAY IS WEDNESDAY, MAY 20TH, 2026. IT IS 6:02 PM WE ARE AT THE PERMITTING AND DEVELOPMENT CENTER ROOM 1405 AT 6 3 1 0 WILLAMINA DELCO DRIVE, AUSTIN, TEXAS. AND WE'LL START BY ESTABLISHING QUORUM. COMMISSIONER BRIMER HERE. COMMISSIONER FLURY. HERE. COMMISSIONER MORRISON. PRESENT. SECRETARY RESI. HERE. COMMISSIONER SULLIVAN HERE. ALRIGHT. AND I'M CHAIR KRUGER. I'M ALSO HERE. WITH THAT WE HAVE QUORUM. NEXT WE WILL GO TO PUBLIC COMMUNICATION CHAIR. OWEN HAS SIGNED UP FOR PUBLIC COMMUNICATION. [APPROVAL OF MINUTES] PERFECT. WITH THAT, I WILL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO APPROVE, UH, LAST MEETING'S MINUTES. SO MOVED. MOVED BY COMMISSIONER SULLIVAN. IS THERE A SECOND? SECOND. SECONDED BY SECRETARY QURESHI. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR PLEASE INDICATE BY RAISING YOUR HANDS. AND THAT IS UNANIMOUS. MOTION PASSES. THANK YOU SO MUCH. NEXT WE'LL GO [2. Discussion and action to approve a recommendation regarding potential environmental impacts of the MoPac South Project, as presented to the Environmental Commission on May 6, 2026.] TO DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS NUMBER TWO, DISCUSSION AND ACTION. TO APPROVE A RECOMMENDATION REGARDING POTENTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF THE MOPAC SOUTH PROJECT AS PRESENTED TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION ON MAY 6TH, 2026. UM, SO JUST AS A REMINDER, THIS IS A DISCUSSION THAT WE HAD AT OUR PREVIOUS MEETING. WE WORKED TO, UM, CRAFT A RECOMMENDATION TOGETHER. SO SECRETARY QURESHI, IF YOU'D LIKE TO PRESENT THAT PLEASE. YEAH. SO, UM, THIS IS THE RECOMMENDATION HERE. UH, LEMME JUST GO AHEAD AND READ IT BECAUSE I'M SORRY. I'M WONDERING DO WE HAVE PUBLIC COMMENT THAT WE WOULD NEED TO GO BEFORE MAKING A FORMAL MOTION ON THIS ITEM CHAIR? NO. HAS SIGNED UP TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM. PERFECT, THEN BY ALL MEANS, PLEASE GO AHEAD. YEAH. SO WE'RE ASKED, THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION WAS GIVEN A BRIEFING REGARDING THE MOPAC SOUTH EXPANSION AND WE'RE ASKED THE CITY COUNCIL OF AUSTIN'S PAST RESOLUTION 2 0 2 4 1 2 1 2 DASH 0 6 6 EXPRESSING CONCERN ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF THE MOPAC SOUTH EXPANSION, LACK OF CONSIDERATION OF VIABLE ALTERNATIVES AND INTEGRATION WITH EXISTING PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION. AND WHEREAS THE CITY OF AUSTIN PASSED A RESOLUTION 2 0 1 9 0 8 0 8 DASH 0 7 8 DECLARING A CLIMATE EMERGENCY ON AUGUST 8TH, 2019, DECLARING GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSION FROM TRANSPORTATION TO BE A LEADING CAUSE OF CLIMATE CHANGE. AND WHEREAS THE CITY OF AUSTIN PASSED RESOLUTION 2 0 2 6 0 4 2 3 DASH 0 6 4 EXPRESSING CONCERN THAT THE CTRA DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL, UH, ASSESSMENT FOR THE MOPAC SOUTH EXPANSION IS INCORRECT IN ITS ASSERTION THAT THE MOPAC EXPANSION, QUOTE UNQUOTE, IS LIKELY TO HAVE NO SIGNIFICANT ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS ON AIR AND WATER QUALITY, ENDANGERED SPECIES, CAVE AND CARS FEATURES PUBLIC PARKLAND AND COMMUNITY SPACES AND VULNERABLE SCHOOL AGE COMMUNITIES. AND WERE ASKED THE CITY OF AUSTIN URBAN TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION RECOMMENDED, UH, IN 2 0 2 6 0 2 0 3 0 0 6 IT RECOMMENDED THAT THE C-T-R-M-A PRODUCE A COMPLETE ENVIRONMENTAL STUDY, ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STUDY, THE THROW STUDY OF ALTERNATIVES BEFORE MOVING FORWARD WITH THE PROJECT. AND WERE ASKED HAYES COUNTY OVER THE OBJECTION OF THE TRA TRAVIS COUNTY COMMISSIONER'S COURT AND WITH THE CONTRACTOR LED BY THE C-T-R-M-A EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, FORMER C-T-R-M-A EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, SIMULTANEOUSLY MOVING FORWARD WITH STUDIES AND PLANNING AIMED AT CONNECTING STATE HIGHWAY 45 SOUTHWEST TODD 35 WITH ROUGHLY HALF THIS PROJECT LOCATED TRAVIS COUNTY. AND WERE ASKED IF THESE TWO PROJECTS ARE BOTH COMPLETED. MOPAC WOULD BE CONVERTED FROM A LOCAL COMMUTER HIGHWAY INTO AN ALTERNATIVE FREEWAY, INVITING LARGE AMOUNTS OF INTER-REGIONAL AND INTERSTATE TRAFFIC, INCLUDING TRUCK TRAFFIC ONTO MOPAC WITH HARM TO THE ENVIRONMENT, NEIGHBORS AND LOCALS, COMMUTERS FROM TRAVIS COUNTY, NORTHERN HAYES COUNTY AND WILLIAMSON COUNTY. AND WE'RE ASKED THE CITY OF AUSTIN URBAN TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION RECOMMENDED IN 2 0 2 5 0 4 DASH ZERO THREE THE MPAC SOUTH EXTENSION BE REMOVED FROM THE CAMPO 2 0 20 50 REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION PLAN. AND WHEREAS BOTH CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATION OF THE PROJECT WERE DUE DIRECT HARM TO LABOR BIRD PARK, LAND, AUSTIN HIGH SCHOOL, LABOR LAKE, LOCAL PARK, BARTON SPRINGS, AND BARTON CREEK GREEN BELT, BARTON CREEK, GAINES CREEK, WILLIAMS CREEK, THE BARTON SPRINGS, EDWARDS AQUIFER RECHARGE ZONE, AND OTHER PARKLAND AND NEIGHBORHOODS ALONG, ALONG THE PROJECT ROUTE. AND WHEREAS THE EXPANSION WILL CAUSE HARM NATURAL WILDLIFE SUCH AS THE BARTON SPRINGS SALAMANDERS, AS WELL AS THE LOCAL CAVE ECOSYSTEMS. AND WHERE AS EXPANSION INCREASE IMPERVIOUS SERVICES LEADING TO GREATER RUNOFF OF POLLUTANTS SUCH AS HEAVY METALS, PETROLEUM HYDROCARBONS AND SEDIMENT TO THE AQUIFER. AND WHEREAS AS THE EXPANSION WOULD ALSO NEGATIVELY AFFECT BARTON SPRINGS AND LOCAL STREAM FLOWS AND WE'RE AS BUILDING SUCH A HIGHWAY EXPANSION CONFLICTS DIRECTLY WITH THE TRANSPORTATION AND CLIMATE PROTECTION GOALS, BOTH THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND TRAVIS COUNTY. UH, NOW THEREFORE BE RESOLVED THAT THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION RECOMMENDS THAT THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE CENTRAL TEXAS REGIONAL MOBILITY AUTHORITY CONSIDER OTHER MORE AFFORDABLE, UH, LESS ENVIRONMENTALLY DAMAGING ALTERNATIVES THAT WILL IMPROVE MOPAC TRAFFIC FLOW [00:05:01] FOR LOCAL COMMUTERS. UH, AND THAT THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL, THE ROLLING WOODS CITY COUNCIL TO AUSTIN IS THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES AND THE TRAVIS COUNTY COMMISSION'S COURT WORK TO OPPOSE THE C-T-R-M-A MOPAC SOUTH PROJECT AS PROPOSED AND TO INSTEAD SUPPORT TRAFFIC DEMAND REDUCTION STRATEGIES AND SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS THAT PROTECT OUR PUBLIC TRUST RESOURCES, INCLUDING BUY MORE LAND AND CONSERVATION EASEMENTS TO PROTECT PERMANENTLY, PROTECT MORE LAND IN THE BARTON SPRINGS EDWARDS AQUIFER WATERSHED WITH THE ADDITIONAL FOLLOWING CONDITIONS, UH, AUSTIN RESIDENTS NEED TO BE ENGAGED WITH A COMPREHENSIVE REPORT ABOUT HOW THEY HAVE BEEN ENGAGED FROM ACROSS THE CITY, BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, THE AREA SURROUNDING THE EXPANSION. UH, TO COMPLETE A FULL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT FOR THE MOPAC SOUTH EXPANSION UP TO NEPA STANDARDS ADOPT IN FULL THE URBAN TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE, UH, COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION, UH, 2 0 2 6 0 2 DASH ZERO SIX AND 2 0 2 4 0 4 3 AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL RESOLUTIONS 2 0 2 6 0 4 2 3 DASH SIX FOUR AND 2 20 19 0 8 8 DASH SEVEN EIGHT, UH, HALT DEVELOPMENT OF THE MOPAC SOUTH EXPANSION UNTIL COMPLETION OF THE EXPANSION OF LOOP 360 9 3 5 WIDENING OF BRODY LANE, COMPLETION OF THE OAK HILL PARKWAY TO DETERMINE THE NECESSITY AND SCOPE OF THE MOPAC SOUTH EXPANSION. UH, EVALUATE OTHER ADDITIONAL OPTIONS SUCH AS INCLUDING LIGHT RAIL OR CAP METRO ROUTES INTO THE EXPANSION IN ORDER TO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF LANES REQUIRED AND CONSIDER ADJUSTING TOLLS TO ALLOW FOR FREE PUBLIC TRANSIT. UH, INTEGRATE THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN. AUSTIN'S STRATEGIC MOBILITY PLAN INTO THE MOPAC SOUTH EXPANSION. UM, COORDINATE WITH CAMPO AND THEIR REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION EMISSION REDUCTION PLAN. UH, PUBLISH ALL STUDIES AND REPORTS ONLINE ON THE CT RMA AND MOPAC SOUTH WEBSITE AS OPPOSED TO REQUIRING THE PUBLIC TO VIEW THEM AT TEX AUSTIN DISTRICT OFFICES. UM, AND WORK WITH FEDERAL TCEQ COUNTY AND CITY OFFICIALS TO PARTICIPATE IN THE CLIMATE POLLUTION REDUCTION GRANTS PROGRAM TO REDUCE TRANSPORTATION EMISSIONS. THAT WAS A MOUTHFUL, BUT THAT'S GOOD JOB READING THAT. YEAH. SO WE HAVE A MOTION. IS THERE A SECOND? I'LL SECOND. OKAY. SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER SULLIVAN. ANY DISCUSSION ON THIS ITEM? GREAT. WITH THAT, LET US GO AHEAD AND GO TO A VOTE. SO WE'LL DO A ROLL CALL VOTE. I'LL START WITH YOU. COMMISSIONER BRIMER APPROVE. AND THEN, UM, COMMISSIONER CHANG SAID IF YOU COULD TURN ON YOUR CAMERA PLEASE FOR THE VOTE. I'LL COME BACK TO YOU. COMMISSIONER FLURRY FOUR, COMMISSIONER MORRISON FOUR. COMMISSIONER SULLIVAN FOUR. COMMISSIONER PIERO FOUR. COMMISSIONER CHANG. SET FOUR SECRETARY RESI FOUR. AND I'M ALSO FOUR. SO WITH THAT IT IS UNANIMOUS. MOTION PASSES. ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU ALL. NEXT [3. Discussion and action to approve a recommendation to Council regarding the Barton Springs Road Bridge Project, as presented to the Environmental Commission on May 6, 2026.] WE'LL GO TO ITEM NUMBER THREE, DISCUSSION AND ACTION TO APPROVE A RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL REGARDING THE BARTON SPRINGS ROAD BRIDGE PROJECT AS PRESENTED TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION ON MAY 6TH, 2026. AGAIN, THIS IS, UM, RESIDUAL FROM OUR LAST MEETING. WE HAD, UM, A LOT OF DISCUSSION AROUND IT AND SOME PUBLIC COMMENT. I BELIEVE WE HAVE SOME MORE PUBLIC COMMENT TODAY. UM, SO I WON'T, UH, YOU KNOW, REHASH, REHASH THE ISSUE FOR FOLKS. UM, WE'LL JUST REMIND PEOPLE WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TO REFER TO LAST MEETINGS MINUTES FOR FURTHER INFORMATION. AND LET'S GO AHEAD AND GO TO, UM, PUBLIC COMMENT. OKAY, THE FIRST SPEAKER IS CHRIS FLORES. CHRIS, YOU'LL HAVE THREE MINUTES. UM, I HAD A COUPLE MORE THOUGHTS TO ADD TO MY THOUGHTS FROM LAST WEEK. UM, AND, AND IT'S JUST A QUESTION TO THIS COMMISSION BECAUSE THIS TOPIC IS GONNA COME BACK TO YOU. UM, COULD YOU ASK THE TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT AND THE PARKS DEPARTMENT TO ITEMIZE THE OPTIONS AND COSTS IN A FORMAT THAT CAN BE EASILY COMPARED BY THE PUBLIC? UM, 'CAUSE WHAT WE'VE BEEN GIVEN IS JUST THE TEAR DOWN COST AND, UM, THERE ARE OTHER, UH, OPTIONS, A TEMPORARY BRIDGE ADJACENT WHILE THE HISTORIC BRIDGE IS REPAIRED. UH, TWO PERMANENT BRIDGES, ONE REPAIRED, ONE NEW, UM, AND, AND THERE ARE DOLLARS ATTACHED TO ALL OF THOSE. I THINK WE, AS THE DISCUSSION CONTINUES, AND IT COMES BACK TO YOU, IT WOULD BE NICE TO HAVE A SLIDE THAT JUST ITEMIZED ALL THOSE COSTS BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT. AND THEN THERE'S ONE MORE DOLLAR AMOUNT THAT SEEMS TO BE VERY IMPORTANT, WHICH IS THE AMOUNT, THE UNKNOWN AMOUNT OF T MITIGATION MONEY FOR LAND TAKEN FROM ZILKER PARK, UM, THAT MATTERS. BUT NO ONE SEEMS TO BE ABLE TO QUANTIFY HOW MUCH LAND AND HOW MUCH, HOW MANY DOLLARS. I APPRECIATE THAT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS. THE NEXT SPEAKER IS KATRINA DELMORE MORE. KATRINA, YOU'LL HAVE THREE MINUTES. [00:10:01] OKAY. I'LL TRY TO GET THROUGH THIS IN THREE MINUTES, BUT YOU HAVE THE COMMENTS IN YOUR PACKETS ALREADY. UM, I'M HERE TO TALK ABOUT THE BARTON SPRINGS ROAD BRIDGE PROJECT. IS THE MIC ON? CAN YOU HEAR? UH, YOU SHOULD HAVE THIS IN FRONT OF YOU. THIS IS THE SECTION 1 0 6 REPORT, AS WELL AS THE SECOND PACKET IS THE BRIDGE REHAB CONCEPT PLAN, WHICH WAS GIVEN TO THE HISTORIC COMMISSION BY CITY STAFF, I BELIEVE IN MAY, APRIL. UM, AGAIN, MY NAME'S KATRINA DE. I HAVE 30 YEARS EXPERIENCE IN GRANT WRITING, GRANT ADMINISTRATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL. PLEASE ACCEPT THESE HANDOUTS AS PART OF THE OFFICIAL RECORD. IT'S MY ATTEMPT TO FILL IN SOME OF THE INFORMATION GAP THAT'S SURROUNDING THIS PROJECT. IT WAS PREPARED IN JANUARY, 2023 BY AM MOST LIKELY PART OF THE BRIDGE INFRASTRUCTURE GRANT APPLICATION FOR REPLACEMENT OF THE BARTON SPRINGS ROAD BRIDGE. NOTE THAT I DO NOT HAVE ACCESS TO THE ATTACHMENTS A, B, AND C. IF YOU TAKE A LOOK AT PAGE ONE AND PAGE 11 OF THAT REPORT, IT STATES THAT THIS CHANGE IN SETTING DESIGN MATERIALS WORKMANSHIP AND THE FEELING OF THE ZKO PARK HISTORIC DISTRICT WILL HAVE AN ADVERSE EFFECT ON HISTORIC PROPERTIES. AND I WANTED TO EMPHASIZE THAT YES, HISTORIC IS PART OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW PROCESS. SO THIS IS IN FACT IN YOUR WHEELHOUSE. UH, THE SAME CONCLUSION IS REACHED ON PAGE 11 WITH REGARDS TO THE REHAB. AND I'M ASSUMING THAT THE REHAB IS THE SECOND PACKET. NOW THE DEFINITION OF REHAB, THAT IS THE CONCEPTUAL DESIGN, AGAIN, AS PRESENTED BY CITY STAFF. THE REASON I BRING UP THE DEFINITION OF REHAB IS BECAUSE THE BRIDGE DOES NEED TO BE ADDRESSED, BUT NOT IN THE WAY THAT'S CONCEIVED IN THAT PACKET. IN ORDER TO REDUCE CONFUSION, I'M RECOMMENDING THAT WE APPROACH THAT DESIGN AS, UM, RETROFIT REHAB. I'M ALSO RECOMMENDING HIRING A PRESERVATION CIVIL ENGINEER WITH HEAVY EXPERIENCE IN HISTORIC STRUCTURES. THEY ARE NOT CURRENTLY ON THE TEAM AS I UNDERSTAND. AND THE TIME REMAINING. I WANTED TO BRING ATTENTION TO THE FOLLOWING. NUMBER ONE, WHAT WAS THE ORIGINAL INTENTION OR PURPOSE OF THE BRIDGE BUILT IN 1926? IT WAS CONSTRUCTED TO PROVIDE SAFE CROSSING FOR THE VEHICULAR TRAFFIC ACROSS A FLOOD PRONE BARTON SPRINGS, AND TO SERVE AS A GATEWAY TO ZUKE PARK TO CONNECT THE PUBLIC TO RECREATION. THE SECOND THING IS WHAT IS THE ROAD CLASSIFICATION OF THE BARTON SPRINGS ROAD? IT'S A MINOR ARTERIAL AND SCENIC ROADWAY. THAT MEANS IT IS TO PROVIDE LOCAL ACCESS. THE SCENIC CLASSIFICATION REQUIRES ADDITIONAL SITE PLAN DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS. THIS CLASSIFICATION SAYS NOTHING ABOUT ACL THREE C 18 WHEELER TRUCKS BRINGING IN EQUIPMENT OR ABOUT CONNECTING TO A MAJOR THOROUGHFARE SUCH AS MOPAC, UH, THE CURRENT NEPA. IN MY OPINION, THE NEPA SHOULD BE STOPPED UNTIL THE NEW DESIGN IS COMPLETED. IF IT IS NOT STOPPED, THIS COMMISSION SHOULD INSIST THAT A NEW ALTERNATIVE BE INCLUDED IN THE CURRENT NEPA DOCUMENT, WHICH IS THE RETROFIT REHAB, RED DECKING DESIGN. I DIDN'T HAVE A CHANCE TO, UM, FULLY DISCUSS WITH YOU MY EXPERIENCE OF THE BRIDGE. IT'S THE MOST PEACEFUL, TRANQUIL PART OF ZUCKER PARK WITH ITS AQUA MARINE COLOR, MAGNIFICENT REFLECTION OF THE ARCHES AND THE SERENE WATERS BELOW WITH THE FISH, TURTLES AND GEESE. PLEASE DO NOT ALLOW THIS VERY NURTURING HUMAN ENVIRONMENT TO BE DESTROYED. THE ADVERSE IMPACTS OF THE CURRENT DESIGN INCLUDES ARCHEOLOGICAL CULTURAL HISTORY, ENDANGERED SPECIES, AQUIFER CONTAMINATION, WATER QUALITY, AND HUMAN ENVIRONMENT. PLEASE INSIST THESE FACTORS BE PROPERLY ASSESSED. ANY QUESTIONS? OKAY. UNFORTUNATELY, WE'RE NOT ABLE TO ENGAGE DIRECTLY WITH PUBLIC COMMENTERS, BUT WE APPRECIATE YOUR TIME. OKAY, THANK YOU. UM, THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS. AND THEN, UH, KATRINA ALSO WANTED TO GIVE, UH, BARB FEL L'S, UM, TESTIMONY SINCE SHE'S NOT ABLE TO BE HERE TODAY. DID HAVE THESE IN YOUR PACKETS AS WELL. UM, THAT WOULD BE ON YOUR COMPUTER, I BELIEVE. UM, SO I'LL READ BARBARA'S COMMENTS. SHE IS THE PRESIDENT OF THE BARTON HILLS NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION. [00:15:02] SHE SAYS, MY NAME IS BARBARA FOLLETTE LAFOLLETTE, AND I'M HERE TO ASK YOU TO OPPOSE, DEMOLITION AND FULL REPLACEMENT OF THE BARTON SPRINGS ROAD BRIDGE AND INCEST INSTEAD, URGED CITY TO PURSUE A LOWER IMPACT REHABILITATION AND ROADWAY DIET ALTERNATIVE. FIRST, THE ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINT OF FULL REPLACEMENT IS ENORMOUS AND HAS NOT BEEN FULLY PRESENTED TO THIS COMMISSION. DEMOLISHING A NEARLY CENTRAL BRIDGE IN THE MIDDLE OF BARTON CREEK'S. FLOODPLAIN WILL REQUIRE HEAVY CONSTRUCTION IN AND ADJACENT TO THE CHANNEL. DEEP FOUNDATIONS, DEWATERING AND STAGING AREAS THAT WILL PERMANENTLY CONVERT PARKLAND AND TEMPORARILY CLEAR EVEN MORE ACREAGE DURING CONSTRUCTION. STAFF MATERIALS AND PAST BRIEFINGS ACKNOWLEDGE PARKLAND TAKINGS AND SUBSTANTIAL CONSTRUCTION EASEMENTS. BUT THIS COMMISSION HAS NOT BEEN GIVEN A CURRENT COMPREHENSIVE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT SUMMARY PROCEEDING TOWARD DEMOLITION WITHOUT THAT INFORMATION BEFORE THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION IS EXACTLY BACKWARD. SECOND, THE BRIDGE IS LOCATED WITHIN THE ZILKER PARK HISTORIC DISTRICT AND THE FEDERAL SECTION 1 0 6 PROCESS HAS ALREADY CONCLUDED THAT THE PROPOSED PROJECT WOULD ADVERSELY AFFECT HISTORIC RESOURCES. THE CITY'S OWN HISTORIC CONSULTANTS FOUND THAT REPLACEMENT WOULD DAMAGE THE SETTING DESIGN MATERIALS, WORKMANSHIP AND FEELING OF ZILKER PARK'S HISTORIC ENTRANCE, WHICH IS PART OF THE HUMAN ENVIRONMENT YOUR BODY IS CHARGED TO CONSIDER. IN PLAIN TERMS, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TEARING OUT A CONTRIBUTING HISTORIC STRUCTURE AT THE FRONT DOOR OF AUSTIN'S MOST ICONIC PARK AND REPLACING IT WITH A MUCH WIDER, MORE INTRUSIVE MODERN BRIDGE. THIRD SCALE MATTERS. COMMISSIONERS HAVE ALREADY RAISED CONCERN THAT THE PROPOSED BRIDGE CROSS SECTION ALMOST DOUBLES THE WIDTH, ROUGHLY 60 FEET TODAY TO, ON THE ORDER OF 100 FEET OR MORE, DESPITE BARTON SPRINGS ROAD ALREADY OPERATING AS A SINGLE LANE IN EACH DIRECTION FOR SAFETY, A MUCH WIDER DECK, LONGER CONSTRUCTION DURATION, AND LARGER FOOTPRINT DIRECTLY TRANSLATE TO MORE SHADE CHANGES. MORE CONCRETE OVER BARTON CREEK, MORE HABITAT DISTURBANCE AND MORE PERMANENT ENCROACHMENT INTO PARKLAND AL TO PUSH ADDITIONAL VEHICLE CAPACITY INTO A CONSTRAINED TO LANE ROADWAY ON EITHER SIDE. THIS IS NOT A CONTEXT SENSITIVE SOLUTION AND A SENSITIVE RIP REPAIR CORD CORRIDOR. FOURTH, FOR THE RECORD, SHOWS THAT REHABILITATION IS FEASIBLE AND THAT COST DIFFERENCES BETWEEN REHAB AND REPLACEMENT ARE SMALL. COMMISSIONERS HAVE NOTED THAT ENGINEERING ESTIMATES CHARACTERIZE THE COST DIFFERENCE AS NEGLIGIBLE WHILE LIFESTYLE LIFECYCLE EXPECTATIONS ARE ON THE ORDER OF 50 YEARS FOR REHAB AND 75 YEARS FOR NEW STRUCTURE WHEN IMPACTS TO A HISTORIC PARK ADJACENT BRIDGE ARE THIS HIGH, A MODEST EXTENSION OF SERVICE LIFE DOES NOT JUSTIFY IGNORING THE LOWER IMPACT OPTION. FH W'S OWN SECTION 1 0 6 GUIDANCE EMPHASIZES AVOIDANCE AND MINIMIZATION OF ADVERSE EFFECTS WHERE FEASIBLE. HERE THE CITY APPEARS TO BE MOVING IN THE MOST DAMAGING ALTERNATIVE STOP TIME. YEAH. OKAY. YOU HAVE THE REST OF THAT IN YOUR PACKETS. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS. THE NEXT SPEAKER IS BEATRICE ANDERSON, AND YOU'LL HAVE THREE MINUTES. GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS, AND THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK. UM, AND THANK YOU ALSO FOR, UH, THE DRAFT RESOLUTION OR THE RECOMMENDATION THAT YOU ARE PROPOSING TODAY. UM, I AM EXTREMELY IN FAVOR OF WHAT YOU HAVE SO FAR, AND I JUST HAVE TWO ADDITIONAL POINTS URGING YOU FOR SLIGHTLY STRONGER LANGUAGE, UM, IN TWO AREAS. ONE, AS YOU KNOW, THE HISTORIC LAND, UH, LANDMARK COMMISSION POSTED THEIR OWN RECOMMENDATION AT THEIR LAST MEETING. AND THEY, IN THAT CAPTURE THE REAL INJUSTICE THAT HAS BEEN DONE HERE WITH HOW MISREPRESENTED THE BRIDGE AND ITS CONDITION HAVE BEEN TO COUNCIL SO FAR AND THE, UH, INACCURACIES AND, AND DEFICIENCIES OF THE ENGINEERING REPORTS AND EVERYTHING THAT WE HAVE BEEN PROVIDED SO FAR. AND IN THAT [00:20:01] RESOLUTION, THEY SAY EXPLICITLY, WHEREAS WITH THE LIMITED INFORMATION PROVIDED, THERE'S REASON TO BELIEVE THAT THE CONDITION OF THE BRIDGE HAS BEEN MISREPRESENTED TO THE COUNCIL AND THAT OPTIONS FOR RETAINING THE BRIDGE HAVE NOT BEEN EXPLORED OR HAVE BEEN WITHHELD FROM OBJECTIVE EVALUATION. AND THEY CONTINUE ON TO LIST MULTIPLE EXAMPLES OF THIS. I URGE YOU TO ADD SIMILAR LANGUAGE INTO THIS RECOMMENDATION, UH, TO CAPTURE THE MISREPRESENTATIONS THAT WERE MADE TO YOU AT THE LAST MEETING HERE, UM, WHICH MIRROR THE ONES THAT WERE MADE TO THE HISTORIC LANDMARK COMMISSION. AND THEN SECONDLY, ONE THING I WANT TO FLAG TO THE COMMISSION AND I URGE YOU TO ADD AS WELL, IS, UH, WE NEED MORE INFORMATION ON WHAT IS HAPPENING TO THE CURRENT UTILITY LINES ON AND AROUND THE BRIDGE. THIS IS SOMETHING WHICH WAS INCLUDED IN THE GR INITIAL GRANT APPLICATION MATERIALS SUBMITTED BY THE ENGINEERS OR, UH, YOU KNOW, BY THE CITY, BUT HAS NOT BEEN SPOKEN ABOUT OR OTHERWISE DOCUMENTED ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE PUBLIC DOCUMENTS THAT I, I HAVE, I HAVE GONE THROUGH EVERYTHING. AND IN PARTICULAR, UH, THE MOVEMENT OF THE GAS AND WATER LINES, UH, THE, THE ELECTRICAL LINES APPEAR TO BE GOING OVERHEAD. BUT IN PAGE 18 OF THE GRANT PACKET, WHICH I BELIEVE YOU WERE SENT YESTERDAY, IF NOT, I CAN SEND THAT TO YOU AFTER THIS MEETING. PAGE 18, UH, SAYS IN SHORT FORM, UH, PRELIMINARY DISCUSSIONS WITH TEXAS GAS INDICATED THAT THEY WOULD SELF PERFORM A GAS LINE REPLACEMENT AND BORE UNDER THE CREEK IF THEY'RE PUTTING A GAS LINE UNDER THE BRIDGE FOR THIS NEW DESIGN. AND THAT HAS NOT BEEN SPOKEN ABOUT ANYWHERE ELSE. HOW ARE THEY GOING FORWARD WITH A NEPA ASSESSMENT? HOW ARE THEY, IF THIS IS NOT INCLUDED IN THE DESIGN MATERIALS, HOW ARE THEY ASSESSING THE TRUE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF THIS AND BEING HONEST WITH THE PUBLIC AND WITH YOU ABOUT WHAT THE IMPACT OF PUTTING A GAS LINE UNDER THE BRIDGE IS? UM, SO I, I REALLY URGE YOU TO ADD THIS TO THE RECOMMENDATION THAT THERE WE GET CLARITY BEFORE ANYTHING IS MOVING FORWARD, UM, ON WHAT IS HAPPENING TO THE GAS LINES, WHAT IS HAPPENING TO THE DOUBLING IN SIZE OF THE WATER LINE THAT CURRENTLY RUNS, RUNS UNDERNEATH THE BRIDGE. UM, FROM MY UNDERSTANDING, THERE HAS BEEN NO CONSIDERATION OF THIS IN ANY MATERIALS OUTSIDE OF A TINY REFERENCE IN THE GRANT APPLICATION. UM, AGAIN, IF YOU DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO THAT, PLEASE LET ME KNOW AND I WILL GET THAT SENT TO YOU. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS CHAIR. THAT CONCLUDES THE SPEAKERS FOR THIS ITEM. OKAY, THANK YOU SO MUCH. WITH THAT, WE DO HAVE A RECOMMENDATION THAT WAS POSTED TO BACK UP. UM, THE MAJORITY OF THE RAZ STATEMENTS REMAIN THE SAME. THERE'S BEEN ONE ALTERATION, SO WE'RE WONDERING IF WE CAN JUST READ INTO THE RECORD THE CHANGES OR IF WE NEED TO READ IT IN ITS ENTIRETY. Y'ALL CAN JUST READ THE CHANGES THAT HAVE BEEN MADE TO THE DRAFT. OKAY, GREAT. SO IF CON COMMISSIONERS COULD PLEASE MAKE SURE TO REFERENCE THE RECOMMENDATION THAT'S IN BACKUP SO YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE VOTING ON. UM, WE'LL HAVE COMMISSIONER QURESHI OR SECRETARY QURESHI READ, UM, THE TOP, WHEREAS STATEMENT THAT HAS BEEN ADJUSTED, UM, AND THEN THE ENTIRETY OF THE THEREFORE STATEMENTS SO WE UNDERSTAND WHAT WE'RE VOTING ON THAT. I'LL TURN IT OVER FOR THE MOTION. YEAH, SO THERE WERE SOME ADDITIONS THAT WE MADE HERE. UM, LET ME SEE WHERE I CAN FIND THEM. SO, UH, SHOUT COMMISSIONER BRIMER BECAUSE HE DID POINT THIS OUT, UH, IN SOMETHING THAT HE SENT, UH, THAT THE SPEAKER SPOKE ABOUT. UM, THERE ARE SOME ADDITIONAL WEAR ASSES, UM, WHEREAS THE, UH, ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ON BARTON SPRINGS RELOCATING THE EXISTING UTILITIES AND THE TEXAS GAS LINES, WHICH WILL REQUIRE BORING UNDERNEATH BARTON CREEK, CANNOT BE, UH, ACCURATELY DETERMINED. AND WHEREAS, UH, AND ACTUALLY I GUESS THERE'S STUFF BEFORE THAT TOO. UH, WHEREAS WITH THE LIMITED INFORMATION PROVIDED, THE REASON, THERE'S REASON TO BELIEVE THE CONDITION OF THE BRIDGE HAS NOT BEEN ACCURATELY PRESENTED TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION. AND THAT OPTIONS FOR RETAINING THE BRIDGE HAVE NOT BEEN FULLY EXPLORED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE OPTIONS PROVIDED IN THE 2023 SILICON PARK VISION PLAN FOR PEDESTRIAN, BICYCLE, MASS TRANSIT, AND VE CLEAR VEHICULAR TRAFFIC. AND WE, AS THE HISTORIC VALUE OF THE BARTON CREEK BRIDGE ASSOCIATED COSTS CANNOT BE ACCURATELY COMPARED TO ITS COMPLETE REPLACEMENT BY A NEW STRUCTURE. UM, AND THEN, LET ME SEE WHAT ELSE IS THERE THAT'S BEEN ADDED? I THINK THAT IS THE MAIN ADDITION. UM, OH YEAH. AND UM, IN THE BEGINNING I ADDED SOMETHING THAT COMMISSIONER BRIER HAD, UM, WHERE, YOU KNOW, WHEREAS THE BRIDGE DECK IS IN NEED OF REPLACEMENT SUBSEQUENTLY, SUBSEQUENTLY, UH, SOME OF THE SPANIEL BEAMS MAYBE NEED TO BE REPLACED IN OTHER CRITICAL REPAIRS MADE FOR THE PURPOSES OF SAFETY AND UTILITY. UM, BASICALLY, YOU KNOW, JUST SAYING THAT WE DO RECOGNIZE THAT [00:25:01] THERE IS SOME RENOVATION WORK THAT THE BRIDGE NEEDS, BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, FOR THE MOST PART WE FEEL THAT THE BRIDGE SHOULD BE RENOVATED, NOT COMPLETELY REPLACED. UH, DO I GO AHEAD AND READ THE THEREFORES NOW? YES, PLEASE. ALRIGHT. WISH I BROUGHT A, UH, REUSABLE WATER CONTAINER FOR, FOR THIS MEETING. UH, NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION RECOMMENDS TO AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL, THE BARTON SPRINGS ROAD BRIDGE BE REGISTERED AS A LOCAL HISTORIC LANDMARK AND REHABILITATED WITH THE FOLLOWING ADDITIONS. UH, DURING THE REHABILITATION PROCESS, ALL EFFORTS WILL BE MADE TO PRESERVE THE ENVIRONMENTAL INTEGRITY AND THE HEALTH OF THE AREA OF POTENTIAL EFFECTS, INCLUDING MONITORING AND MITIGATING, UH, NOISE POLLUTION, USING DECIMAL METERS, MONITORING AND MITIGATING AIR POLLUTION, UH, PARTICULATE MATTER AND RUNOFF IN EFFORT TO ENSURE THE HEALTH AND SAFETY OF PARK GOERS AND ENDANGERED SPECIES IN THE SPRINGS BELOW. UH, BUTTRESS, UH, IS THAT HOW YOU SAY IT? BUTTRESS. BUTTRESS, I DUNNO. BUTTRESS THE, I JUST HAVE NEVER SAID IT OUT LOUD BEFORE. UH, BUTTRESS THE RIPARIAN HABITAT BELOW WITH NATIVE SPECIES AND PROTECTED AREAS. UH, ENSURE RESPECT, PROTECTION, AND CARE OF ALL HISTORIC ARCHEOLOGICAL ARCHEOLOGICAL ARTIFACTS IN THE A PE. UH, BUILD A SEPARATE PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE THAT IS ALIGNED AESTHETICALLY WITH HISTORIC, UH, EXISTING HISTORIC BRIDGE, UTILIZING NATURAL MATERIALS WHERE POSSIBLE AND CONSERVE A FUTURE IN WHICH THE EXISTING BRIDGE IS ENTIRELY FOR PEDESTRIAN AND NON-VET TRAFFIC. MAINTAIN THE SENSE OF PLACE OF INTEGRITY OF THE ORIGINAL DESIGN THAT ALSO CREATES AN ENTRANCE AND SETS THE TONES LOCAL PARK. DEMONSTRATE THE NEED OR JUSTIFICATION FOR THE INCREASE IN LANES ON THE BRIDGE THAT DO NOT MATCH THE LANES ON BARTON SPRINGS ROAD. ESTABLISH AND MAINTAIN AN ANNUAL MAINTENANCE PLAN FOR THE BRIDGE TO ENSURE THAT IT IS NOT FALL INTO DISREPAIR, UH, INTO THE FUTURE. UH, DEPUTIZE A PUBLIC LIAISON FOR THIS PROJECT CREATING EASY TO USE ONLINE PUBLIC PORTAL, RELEVANT PUBLIC DOCUMENTS, AND HOLD MORE FREQUENT TARGETED MEETINGS IN THE COMMUNITY FOR CONTINUED STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT. IMPROVED BARTON, CORRECT BARTON CREEK BANK PROTECTION TO PREVENT ADDITIONAL MAJOR DAMAGE REVIEW. ALTERNATIVE TRAFFIC PLANS PROPOSED BY THE 2323 ZILKER PARK VISION PLAN, WHICH RECOMMENDED REDUCING THE NUMBER OF LANES, VEHICLE OR TRAFFIC THROUGH ZILKER PARK TO A SINGLE LANE DIRECTION. BE BARTON SPRINGS ROAD DIVERTING PEDESTRIAN BICYCLE TRAFFIC THROUGH PAST NORTH OF BARTON SPRINGS ROAD AND ADJACENT TO THE UMLA SCULPTURE GARDEN. UH, CONDUCT EXTENSIVE ARCHEOLOGICAL SURVEYS OF THE VERA DANIEL SITE TO ENSURE NONE OF THE ARTIFACTS ARE DAMAGED, ADHERE TO THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE HERITAGE TREE ORDINANCE AND MAINTAINING PREVIOUS COVER REQUIREMENTS IS SET FORTH IN THE ECM, UH, AND ENVIRONMENTAL CRITERIA MANUAL, UH, DETERMINED THE POSSIBLE IMPACT ON BARTON SPRINGS TURBIDITY LEVELS OF THE USE OF HEAVY CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES REQUIRED. INCLUDE THE BRIDGE INTO THE ZILKER PARK NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES. STUDY THE POTENTIAL IMPACT OF THIS CONSTRUCTION ON THE, UH, ENDANGERED BARTON SPRINGS SALAMANDER, DEVELOPING AGGRESSIVE STRATEGY FOR COLLECTING TREE AND MONITORING RUNOFF FROM THE NEW BRIDGE ON BARTON SPRINGS ROAD INTO THE BARTON CREEK AND LABOR LAKE. AND REPORT RUNOFF RESULTS TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION QUARTERLY DEVELOP AND, UM, MANAGE AN AGGRESSIVE PLAN TO MINIMIZE EROSION, UH, AND ON UNDER AND AROUND THE NEW BRIDGE OF LONG BARTON CREEK AND CORRECT AS NECESSARY. REVIEW, UM, FOR SAFETY PURPOSES, RESTRICT LOADS ON THE BRIDGE AND LIMIT LARGE VEHICLES TO EMERGENCY VEHICLES AND CITY TRANSIT BUSES. UH, CONSTRUCT ADDITIONAL TRAFFIC CALMING DEVICES AND CROSSWALKS ON BARTON SPRINGS ROAD WITHIN SILICON PARK TO ENHANCE THE PEDESTRIAN AND BICYCLE SAFETY. AND WE SHOULD PROBABLY PUT SOMETHING IN THERE ABOUT, UH, AS MARIANA AND COMMISSIONER BRIMER AND, YOU KNOW, THE, UH, CITIZEN COMMUNICATION POINTED OUT SOMETHING ABOUT THIS UTILITY LINE AS FAR AS LIKE, HEY, LET'S BE A LITTLE BIT MORE HONEST ABOUT WHAT IS REQUIRED WITH CONSTRUCTION. BUT I DON'T KNOW EXACTLY HOW WE WOULD PUT THAT IN THERE. SO IF SOMEBODY HAS A RECOMMENDATION, TOTALLY ALL EARS. OKAY. THANK YOU. WELL, LET'S START WITH THE LANGUAGE THAT WE HAVE. SO WE HAVE A MOTION. IS THERE A SECOND? I'LL SECOND. THANK YOU. SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER SULLIVAN, WHICH MEANS WE CAN NOW GO INTO DISCUSSION, UM, AROUND THIS AND ANY AMENDMENTS CAN BE PROPOSED. UM, I BELIEVE WE CAPTURED THE UTILITY QUESTION, BUT LET'S DOUBLE CHECK THAT. DO YOU? LOOKS LIKE YOU WERE GONNA SPEAK. THAT'S OKAY. YEAH, THAT'S ALL I WAS WAS GONNA SAY. IT SOUNDED LIKE WE CAPTURED IT IN THE, WHEREAS OKAY. UH, COMMENT THAT YOU ADDED WAS PRETTY CLEAR. WE NECESSARILY HAD LIKE A SPECIFIC ASK THAT WE WANT THE CITY OR, YOU KNOW, CONTRACTORS OR WHOEVER TO CONSULTANTS RIGHT. TO LIKE EXPRESSLY CARRY OUT. SO THAT WAS JUST MY ONE THOUGHT. YEAH. LET'S SEE. SO CURRENTLY THE LANGUAGE SAYS WHEREAS THE BRIDGE DECK IS IN NEED OF REPLACEMENT AND SUBSEQUENTLY SOME OF THE SPANDREL BEAMS MAY NEED TO BE REPLACED AND OTHER CRITICAL REPAIRS MADE FOR THE PURPOSES OF SAFETY AND UTILITY. OKAY. SO YOU'RE RIGHT. THAT'S THE ONLY MENTION OF UTILITY. I THOUGHT THERE WAS ANOTHER ONE. NO, AT THE BOTTOM IT SAYS, WHEREAS THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF BARTON SPRINGS RELOCATING THE EXISTING UTILITIES IN TEXAS GAS LINES, WHICH WILL REQUIRE BORING UNDER BARTON CREEK CANNOT BE ACCURATELY DETERMINED. SO I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANT PUT SOMETHING IN IT THEREFORE BE RESOLVED THAT Y'ALL SAY THIS IS ACTUALLY, YOU KNOW, THIS IS THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF DOING THIS. AND PUT IT IN LIKE BLINKING NEON LETTERS SO THAT PEOPLE SEE IT, YOU KNOW? MM-HMM . OKAY. SO ARE THERE ANY SPECIFIC PROPOSALS THEN FOR LANGUAGE? AND SO I'LL JUST READ THAT PART AGAIN. WHEREAS THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ON BARTON SPRINGS [00:30:01] OF RELOCATING THE EXISTING UTILITIES AND THE TEXAS GAS LINES, WHICH WILL REQUIRE BORING UNDERNEATH BARTON CREEK, CANNOT BE ACCURATELY DETERMINED. IS THERE AN ADDITIONAL AMENDMENT WE WANT TO MAKE TO THAT LINE? WELL, AT SOME POINT, THIS IS COMMISSIONER BRIMER. UH, AT SOME POINT COULD WE, WE WEAVE IT INTO SOME OF THE EXISTING THEREFORES THAT A COMPLETE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS STATEMENT BE DONE, WHICH INCLUDES EVALUATION OF RELOCATING UTILITIES. I MEAN, THAT'S NOT THE EXACT WORDING, OBVIOUSLY, BUT THAT'S THE DRIFT OF WHAT WOULD NEED TO BE PUT IN THERE. AND I'LL SECOND THAT. OKAY. THANK YOU. CAN YOU PUT IT INTO LANGUAGE THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE IN THERE? COMMISSIONER PRIMER? OH, GEE WHIZ. UH, YOU KNOW, SECRETARY RESI IS SO, UH, YOU KNOW, HE'S A WORDSMITH. I KNOW. YEAH. I'M TRYING TO, TO SEE IF THERE'S LIKE, UH, I KNOW I'M WAITING. LIKE I SAID IN MY EMAIL, I'M WAITING FOR HIS FIRST NOVEL . AMEN. PLUG ME IN WITH SOME PUBLISHERS. I'LL SPLIT HALF THE ADVANCE WITH YOU. I'LL TAKE A THIRD, BUT, UH, I'M GONNA DEFER TO COMMISSIONER RESI 'CAUSE UH, UH, I, BECAUSE I AM. OKAY, WELL LET'S GIVE HIM A MINUTE ON THAT AND THEN WE CAN DO A FORMAL AMENDMENT. IS THERE ANY OTHER DISCUSSION ON THIS ITEM? TRYING TO BUY HIM TIME. COULD WE ALSO ADD THE, UM, ACCESSIBILITY OF THAT ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT INTO THE, UM, LINE OF THE THEREFORES THAT STARTS WITH DEPUTIZE A PUBLIC LIAISON FOR THIS PROJECT? SURE. SO RIGHT NOW IT SAYS DEPUTIZE A PUBLIC LIAISON FOR THIS PROJECT, CREATE AN EASY TO USE ONLINE PUBLIC PORTAL WITH RELEVANT PROJECT DOCUMENTS AND HOLD MORE FREQUENT TARGETED MEETINGS IN THE COMMUNITY FOR CONTINUED STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT. YEAH, I'M THINKING MAYBE WE JUST SPECIFY, UM, AFTER, WITH RELEVANT PROJECT DOCUMENTS, IF WE JUST SAY INCLUDING THE FULL ENVIRONMENTAL, UH, IMPACT REPORT MM-HMM . I'LL TAKE THAT AS AN AMENDMENT AND I'LL, I'LL SECOND THAT AS WELL. ALL RIGHT. SO WE HAVE AN AMENDMENT AND A SECOND TO ADD THE LANGUAGE QUOTE, INCLUDING THE FULL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT, UM, IN THE THEREFORE LINE THAT STARTS WITH DEPUTIZE. SO LET'S GO AHEAD AND BY A QUICK SHOW OF HANDS, RAISE YOUR HAND TO INDICATE YOUR APPROVAL OF THAT AMENDMENT. AND I SEE IT'S UNANIMOUS, SO WE WILL INCLUDE THAT. YEAH. AND THEN I HAVE THIS ADDITIONAL THING, UM, WHICH MAYBE WE CAN ROLL INTO, INTO WHAT, UH, COMMISSIONER CHENS HAS SAID, BUT BASICALLY INCLUDE A FULL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT, WHICH INCLUDES RELOCATING UTILITIES SLASH GAS LINES, AND OTHER ADDITIONAL CONSTRUCTION THAT WOULD BE NEEDED FOR ENTIRELY REPLACING THE BARTON SPRINGS BRIDGE. MM-HMM . THAT SOUNDS GOOD TO ME. WOULD YOU MIND HIGHLIGHTING WHERE EXACTLY THAT IS? IT'S AT THE VERY BOTTOM OF THE, THE DEEP SEA. OH, I SEE. OKAY. OOPS. OKAY. SO WE HAVE AN AMENDMENT TO ADD TO THE, THEIR FOUR STATEMENTS AT THE VERY END QUOTE INCLUDE A FULL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT, WHICH INCLUDES RELOCATING UTILITY SLASH GAS LINES AND OTHER ADDITIONAL CONSTRUCTION THAT WOULD BE NEEDED FOR ENTIRELY REPLACING THE BARTON SPRINGS BRIDGE. SO WE HAVE AN AMENDMENT. IS THERE A SECOND FOR THAT? I'LL SECOND. OKAY. SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER SULLIVAN. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR INDICATE BY RAISING YOUR HANDS. THAT IS ALSO UNANIMOUS. SO THAT WILL BE ADOPTED. PERFECT. ANY OTHER DISCUSSION ON THE ENTIRETY OF THE RECOMMENDATION BEFORE WE MOVE TO A VOTE? OKAY. WITH THAT, WE ARE NOW GOING TO BE CONSIDERING THE ORIGINAL MOTION, UM, WHICH IS THE RECOMMENDATION, BARTON SPRINGS ROAD BRIDGE PROJECT. AND WE WILL, UM, DO A ROLL CALL VOTE COMMISSIONER BRIMER APPROVE. COMMISSIONER CHANG SUT FOR COMMISSIONER FLURRY FOUR, COMMISSIONER MORRISON FOUR. SECRETARY RESI FOUR. COMMISSIONER SULLIVAN FOUR, COMMISSIONER FIRO FOUR. AND I'M ALSO FOUR. SO WITH THAT, THAT IS UNANIMOUS. MOTION PASSES. ALL RIGHT. [4. Discussion and action to approve a recommendation to Council to purchase property located at 6202 and 6204 Caddie Street, 1600, 1604, 1606, 1608, 1610, 1612, and 1614 Montopolis Drive, and 6205, 6211, and 6215 Fairway Street. Presented by Susana Almanza, Poder. Sponsors: Vice Chair Bristol and Secretary Qureshi. (Part 1 of 2)] THANK YOU ALL. SO WE WILL NEXT MOVE TO ITEM NUMBER FOUR, DISCUSSION AND ACTION. TO APPROVE A RECOMMENDATION TO COUNSEL TO PURCHASE PROPERTY LOCATED AT 6 2 0 2 AND 6 2 0 4 CADDY STREET 1616 0 4 16 0 6 16 0 8 16, 10 16 12 [00:35:03] AND 1614 MONTOPOLIS DRIVE AND 62 0 5 62 11, AND 62 15 FAIRWAY STREET, PRESENTED BY ANA ALMANZA, SPONSORED BY VICE CHAIR, BRISTOL AND SECRETARY QURESHI. SO I BELIEVE WE DO HAVE A PRESENTATION. PLEASE GO AHEAD AND COME ON UP. GOOD AFTERNOON, COMMISSIONERS. I'M SUSAN AL MASO WITH, UH, POED, I BELIEVE LAST MONTH WE BROUGHT BEFORE YOU, UH, THAT REQUEST THAT THAT RESOLUTION, THAT RECOMMENDATION. UH, AND SO, UM, WHEN I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO CARLOS TO TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL, UH, CONCERNS, UH, THAT WE HAD BROUGHT TO YOU LAST TIME, CARLOS. HI EVERYONE, MY NAME IS CARLOS PENON. UH, I'M THE RESILIENCE PROGRAM COORDINATOR AT ED. UM, AND WHAT YOU SEE ON YOUR SCREEN RIGHT NOW IS KIND OF AN ENUMERATION OF THE NUMBER OF APARTMENT UNITS THAT ARE IN MONTAO. I BELIEVE IT'S ABOUT 3,800. UM, AND SO WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE THE CASE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T NEED ANOTHER MULTIFAMILY DEVELOPMENT. THERE'S PLENTY OF HOUSING IN MONTAO. UM, AND THERE'S STILL THE QUESTION OF LIKE WHO THAT AFFORDABLE, UH, FOR WHO THAT HOUSING IS FOR. UM, SO IF YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, ACTUALLY, I'M GONNA SPEAK MOSTLY ABOUT THIS RESEARCH THAT HAS BEEN DONE, UM, BY, UH, A STUDENT THAT WE WORK WITH AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS LAST WEEK. . YEAH, IT'S OKAY. WE CAN TAKE A MINUTE TO CHECK AND IF WE NEED TO RECESS FOR A FEW MINUTES, WE CAN DO THAT. TRUE. NO, I DON'T. IF, IF Y'ALL ARE COMFORTABLE WITH IT, MAYBE YOU ALL TAKE SOME TIME TO WORK THAT OUT AND THEN I THINK WE'LL COME BACK TO THIS ITEM. GO ON TO THE NEXT ITEM FOR NOW. OKAY, THANK YOU. AND WE'LL, WE'LL COME BACK TO YOU. OKAY. SO WE'RE [5. Discussion and action to approve a recommendation to Council regarding implementation of efficient, local, natural gas-powered peaker generation units as part of Austin Energy’s Resource, Generation, and Climate Protection Plan to 2035. Sponsors: Vice Chair Bristol and Secretary Qureshi.] GONNA MOVE ON TO ITEM NUMBER FIVE, DISCUSSION AND ACTION. TO APPROVE A RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL REGARDING IMPLEMENTATION OF EFFICIENT LOCAL NATURAL GAS POWERED PEAKER GENERATION UNITS AS PART OF AUSTIN ENERGY'S RESOURCE GENERATION AND CLIMATE PROTECTION PLAN TO 2035, SPONSORED BY VICE BRISTOL AND SECRETARY QURESHI. SECRETARY QURESHI. I'LL TURN THIS OVER TO YOU 'CAUSE I KNOW THIS WAS A TOPIC OF CONVERSATION AT, AT THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE AND WOULD LOVE TO HEAR WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY. YEAH, SO BASICALLY, UM, THESE, UH, YOU KNOW, GAS FIRED PEAKER PLANTS, UM, ARE BASICALLY SOMETHING THAT THE, THAT AUSTIN ENERGY IS, UH, PLANNING ON BUILDING TO BASICALLY SUPPLANT, UM, YOU KNOW, CAPACITY IN CASE OF, YOU KNOW, I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE WORRIED ABOUT, YOU KNOW, CATASTROPHIC, UH, SUMMER GRID FAILURES, RIGHT? WE LOVE OUR AC HERE. UM, WE DO LOVE OUR AC HERE FOR SURE. LEMME REPEAT THAT JUST FOR ADDITIONAL EMPHASIS. UH, BUT YOU KNOW, IT COMES AT A COST AND THE, A LOT OF FOLKS ARE CONCERNED THAT AUSTIN ENERGY IS INVESTING IN, YOU KNOW, THESE SORT OF FOSSIL FUEL FIRED ASSETS AS OPPOSED TO, YOU KNOW, BATTERY STORAGE OR RENEWABLES SUCH AS SOLAR, WIND. UM, YOU KNOW, THERE WAS A LOT OF DISCUSSION THAT, YOU KNOW, PURCHASING ASSETS LIKE THESE THAT ACTUALLY DEPRECIATE AND VALUE OVER THE COURSE OF DECADES, RIGHT? AS OPPOSED TO, YOU KNOW, RENEWABLES, WHICH WILL MOST LIKELY, UM, YOU KNOW, APPRECIATE, UM, AND ALSO JUST BECOME CHEAPER, UH, AS TECHNOLOGY IMPROVES. PROBABLY NOT THE WISEST WAY TO GO JUST STRICTLY FROM A FINANCIAL PERSPECTIVE. AND THEN FROM ENVIRONMENTAL PERSPECTIVE, I THINK OBVIOUSLY WE ALL KIND OF REALIZE THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, GAS, FIRE, PEAKER PLANTS ARE PERHAPS NOT THE BEST WAY TO DO STUFF. HOWEVER, WE ARE NOW IN THE SITUATION WHERE AUSTIN ENERGY IS, UH, VOTING ON THIS. THERE HASN'T REALLY BEEN TOO MUCH DISCUSSION, UH, PUBLICLY ABOUT, YOU KNOW, VENDORS AND WHO HAD PURCHASED IT. A LOT OF THAT'S BEEN HAPPENING IN, UH, SORT OF, UH, TERM, I THINK EXECUTIVE SESSIONS OR CLOSED SESSIONS, RIGHT? SO, UM, YOU KNOW, NOW WE HAVE THIS THING AND, UM, DO I NEED TO READ THE ENTIRE THING THAT'S UPDATED [00:40:01] OR DO I JUST READ, DO WE JUST VOTE ON IT? HOW DO WE, IS THERE A PORTION THAT'S DIFFERENT FROM BACKUP? SIMILAR? YES. I THINK THERE WAS, UH, SOME STUFF THAT WAS ADDED THAT'S IN RED. SO DO I JUST READ THOSE PARTS OUT? LET'S DO, I MEAN, I THINK IT'S GOOD TO READ ALL OF THE THEREFORES REGARDLESS, BUT IF THERE ARE ANY CHANGES TO THE WAREHOUSES ABOVE, LET'S GO AHEAD AND READ THAT TOO. ALRIGHT. YEAH. SO BASICALLY, UM, YOU KNOW, WE WORKSHOPPED THIS AT THE JSC AND WE ADDED A COUPLE THINGS. UH, WHAT WE ADDED WAS, UH, YOU KNOW, WHEREAS IT IS AUSTIN ENERGY CUSTOMERS WHO WILL BEAR THE FINANCIAL RISK OF ANY CAPITAL INVESTMENTS THAT BECOME STRANDED ASSETS OR BECOME ECONOMIC LIABILITIES BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE ALL LOVE MAKING PEOPLE FEEL BAD ABOUT SPENDING MONEY DUMBLY. UH, AND WE'RE ASKED ENVI, THAT WAS MY OWN PERSONAL COMMENT, NOT SOMETHING THAT'S IN THE RECOMMENDATION. UH, AND WE'RE ASKED, INNOVATION AND COMPETITION ARE PROJECTED TO RESULT IN A CONTINUED DECLINING RENEWABLE ENERGY AND ENERGY STORAGE COSTS AND SOURCES SU SUCH AS BLOOMBERG'S LEVELIZED COST OF ELECTRICITY 2026 REPORT PROJECT, THE COST OF BATTERY STORAGE TO DECREASE BY 25%, AND THE COST OF SOLAR TO DECREASE BY 30% BY 2035. AND WHEREAS NATURAL GAS PRICES CAN BE VOLATILE AND EIA AND WOOD MCKENZIE, UH, PROJECT SIGNIFICANT INCREASES TO HENRY HUB NATIONAL GAS PRICES OVER THE NEXT YEAR AND THROUGH 2035. CLEARLY THAT WAS NOT ME. THAT THAT, THAT IS LIKE THE SMART PEOPLE AT THE JSC WHO ACTUALLY KNOW ABOUT THIS STUFF. I'M JUST, YOU KNOW, PRETENDING TO TAKE CREDIT FOR THEIR WORK. UH, AND THEN FURTHER DOWN THERE IS, UH, UH, A WE AS THAT WE ADDED THAT SAYS, UH, AND WE, AS THE AMERICAN LUNG ASSOCIATION'S 2026 STATE OF THE AIR REPORT ASSIGNS TRAVIS COUNTY AN F GRADE FOR OZONE POLLUTION. UH, AND IT'S NOT FOR EFFING GRADE, UH, A DEGRADE FOR SHORT-TERM PARTICLE POLLUTION AND A FAILING GRADE FOR ANNUAL PARTICLE POLLUTION. AND, UH, AND WE EDITED THIS NEXT PORTION THAT SAYS, AND OR AS METHANE, THE PRIMARY COMPONENT OF METHANE, UH, NATURAL GAS SAYS 86 MORE GLOBAL WARMING POTENTIAL, UH, A 86 TIMES MORE TIMES, UH, GLOBAL WARMING POTENTIAL THAN CARBON DIOXIDE OVER A 20 YEAR TIME HORIZON WHEN ADMITTED DIRECTLY INTO THE ATMOSPHERE, UH, WHICH IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE OF HIGH LEAKAGE RATES IN THE TEXAS NATIONAL GAS, UH, PRODUCTION SYSTEM. UM, AND THEN THE NEXT WE'RE ASKED, WE ADD THAT AUSTIN ENERGY RESOURCE GENERATION CLIMATE PROTECTION PLAN TO 2035 INCLUDES A COMMITMENT TO INCORPORATE COMMUNITY INPUT. UM, SAME THING WITH THE NEXT PARAGRAPH. UH, AND THEN IN THE THEREFORE, AS WE ADDED SOME ADDITIONAL STUFF, WE SAID, UH, THAT THE CITY COUNCIL, UM, SHOULD BE FULLY TRANSPARENT WITH THE COMMUNITY ABOUT THE COST OF ANY AUSTIN ENERGY RESOURCES AND THE FINANCIAL RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH POTENTIAL STRAIGHTED ASSETS. AGAIN, JUST MAKING 'EM FEEL BAD ABOUT SPENDING MONEY DUMBLY, BECAUSE THAT IS HOW PEOPLE END UP ON THE COVER OF THE STATESMEN SHOUT SWEET GREEN, UH, INCLUDING THE FINANCIAL IMPACTS OF THE, UH, ADDED GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS AND LOCAL AIR POLLUTION. UM, AND, UH, AT AND BELOW THAT WE SAID, INSTEAD OF MAKE EVERY POSSIBLE EFFORT TO IMPLEMENT, WE INSTEAD USE THE PHRASE, PRIORITIZE IMPLEMENTING. UM, AND OTHER THAN THAT, IT, IT'S PRETTY MUCH, UH, WHAT'S IN THE BACKUP. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT. UM, SO WE'LL TAKE THAT FOR NOW AS A MOTION. IS THERE A SECOND? I'LL SECOND. OKAY. SECOND. CAN I, CAN I THROW SOMETHING IN HERE? I THINK BY MAY. YEAH. IF WE HAVE A, NOW WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND. SO NOW WE CAN GO TO DISCUSSION. UM, AND I WAS GONNA START WITH COMMISSIONER FIERRO IF SHE FEELS COMFORTABLE, 'CAUSE I KNOW SHE'S BEEN WORKING ON THIS ISSUE, BUT, OKAY, GO AHEAD. THAT'S FINE. OKAY. YEAH. THANK YOU. CHAIR KRUGER? UH, YES. SO COUNCIL IS VOTING ON THE PEAKERS TOMORROW, AND IT'S, THE REALITY OF IT IS THAT THEY'RE GONNA HAPPEN. SO I DON'T KNOW LIKE HOW MUCH IMPACT OR UNFORTUNATELY OR RECOMMENDATION IS GONNA HAVE. UM, BUT ALSO AUSTIN ENERGY HASN'T BEEN TRANSPARENT WITH ANYONE, NOT EVEN ELECTED OFFICIALS. LIKE THEY PUSHED EVERYTHING THIS WEEK. UH, THE WORK SESSION IN TWO YESTERDAY WAS LAST MINUTE. A LOT OF COUNCIL MEMBERS AT THE END OF LAST WEEK STILL HAD NO CLUE AS TO LIKE HOW MUCH IT WAS GONNA COST. WHY THEY WERE ONLY LOOKING AT PEAKERS. A LOT OF THEM DIDN'T KNOW THAT. THEY TOLD SOME PEOPLE THAT THEY WERE BUILDING THEM AND THEY WERE ALREADY LIKE, MOVING AHEAD WITH IT. WELL, NONE OF THAT WAS AS DISCLOSED TO CANCEL, UH, WHICH I THINK IT'S A, A RED FLAG ON HOW AUSTIN ENERGY IS MOVING FORWARD WITH THESE. UM, I LIKE ALMOST EVERYTHING THAT'S ON THE RECOMMENDATION. I FEEL LIKE, I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH SWAY THIS IS GONNA HAVE, BUT LIKE MAYBE ADDING SOMETHING ALONG THE LINES OF LIKE ENCOURAGING COUNCIL TO POSTPONE THE VOTE. UM, 'CAUSE THERE HASN'T REALLY BEEN PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT. THE PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT THAT AUSTIN ENERGY IS [00:45:01] COUNTING AS LIKE, OH, WE DID REACH OUT TO PEOPLE, WHICH THEY BASICALLY SCHEDULED THESE THE DAY BEFORE THEY HAD THEM. AND THEY WERE AROUND LIKE POTENTIAL ENERGY SOURCES THAT WE COULD USE AS PART OF ACHIEVING OR NET ZERO WHEN YOU, WHEN WE GOT THERE, WHEN I WENT TO ONE OF THOSE, IT WAS MOSTLY JUST THEM SAYING LIKE, OH YEAH, THESE ARE JUST LIKE ALL THE OPTIONS. UM, BUT WE ARE NOT REALLY LIKE, DECIDING ON THINGS. YESTERDAY WE FOUND OUT THAT THEY TOOK THOSE MEETINGS AS LIKE WE ALREADY TOLD THE PUBLIC THAT WE ARE BUILDING THEM, BUT THOSE MEETINGS DIDN'T HAVE A SINGLE INDIVIDUAL THAT LIVED IN THE AREAS. THEY'RE LOOKING AT POTENTIAL SITES, WHICH I THINK PEOPLE THAT LIVE AT BY THOSE SITES SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN THE CONVERSATION PRIOR TO DECIDING TO POLLUTE THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS. UM, WHICH SEEMS LIKE A LOT OF THEM ARE NOT EVEN AWARE THIS IS HAPPENING. THERE WERE ALSO SOME CONCERNS AROUND LIKE, UM, SOMEONE SAID THAT THEY HAD HEARD AT THIS COMMITTEE, AT THIS COMMITTEE MEETINGS THAT ONE OF THE SITES THAT IT WAS MORE LIKELY TO HAPPEN WAS IN A VERY CLOSE PROXIMITY TO A MIDDLE SCHOOL, WHICH WOULD BE TERRIBLE. I, I DON'T NEED TO TELL Y'ALL. BUT, UM, SO THERE'S SOME OF THAT. AND I FEEL LIKE THE COST THAT AUSTIN ENERGY HAS LIKE DISCLOSED AT LEAST TO SOME JOURNALISTS HAS BEEN 1 BILLION. AND WE ALREADY KNOW THAT THE CITY'S ON A DEFICIT. AND I DON'T SEE, BASED ON HOW RENEWABLES ARE MOVING FORWARD, HOW IS THAT MORE, UH, COST EFFICIENT THAN INVESTING IN SOLAR PANELS OR BATTERY STORAGE OR ANY OTHER FORM OF, UM, RENEWABLE SOURCES. AS WELL AS WE DON'T HAVE ANY GRID MODELING AS TO LIKE WHY WE CANNOT RELY ON OTHER ENERGY SOURCES AND WE HAVE TO USE SPEAKERS IN THE LANGUAGING AROUND THE LIKE, OH, IT'S ONLY BECAUSE WE HAVE A CLIMATE EVENT, WHICH CLIMATE EVENTS HAVE BEEN PREDOMINANTLY DRIVEN BY OR ENERGY SOURCES, WHICH THEY'RE ALSO NOT SAYING. SO IT'S LIKE, WE'RE FIXING FIRE WITH FIRE. UM, SO THEY'RE SAYING LIKE, IN THE CASE OF ANOTHER WINTER STORM URI, THIS ONES ARE GONNA COME, UH, BACK ON. LIKE, AND IT'S LIKE, WELL, WE ALL KNOW THAT DURING URI GAS DID NOTHING . UM, SO THEY'RE ALSO, THERE'S A LOT OF LIKE, OH, THEY'RE GONNA TAKE A WHILE TO BE, UH, FULLY BUILT, BUT THEY'RE GONNA BE READY BY 2030. BUT THEY'RE ALSO SAYING, WE NEED THIS FOR A CURRENT DEMAND AND IT'S URGENT AS SOON AS LIKE NEXT YEAR, 2027. SO HOW ARE YOU PRESSURING ME TO VOTE FOR SOMETHING BECAUSE OF OUR ENERGY DEMAND BY THAT YOU NEED TO COVER BY 2027 WHERE YOU'RE TELLING ME IT'S GET IS GONNA BE DONE BY 2030. THERE ARE ALSO NO CONCRETE PLANS AS TO LIKE, WHAT ARE THE TIMELINES TO FULLY LIKE, CLOSE THESE OR TRANSITION THESE. UM, THEY'RE JUST A LOT OF LIKE, OH, WE'LL BUILD THEM FOR A LITTLE BIT AND STILL KEEP ON OUR GOAL OF LIKE, BY 2035 WE'RE GONNA BE A HUNDRED PERCENT CARBON FREE. BUT THERE'S NO TIMELINE. WE'VE SEEN IT WITH FA THERE'S A LOT OF LIKE, WE'RE GONNA CLOSE IT, IT'S GONNA HAPPEN AND IT'S NOT HAPPENING. ALTHOUGH WITH THAT ONE, IT'S A LOT MORE COMPLEX 'CAUSE WE HAVE TO STATE GOVERNMENT. UM, BUT THERE'S NO COMPLETE TIMELINE, WHICH I DON'T KNOW IF WE CAN LIKE ASK THAT AS LIKE A CONCRETE TIMELINE OR LIKE COMMITMENT THAT THAT IS FOR SURE GONNA HAPPEN. UM, AND ALSO LIKE THE, THE DISCLOSURE OF THE LOCATIONS, I THINK IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT AND THE IMPACTS IN, I FEEL LIKE FOR US, THE, WE KNOW, LIKE FOR EXAMPLE WITH, WITH FAYETTE, I KNOW IT'S SKULL AND NOT, UM, NOT GAS, BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY IT'S A BAD THING. IT'S STILL, IT'S STILL METHANE METER. BUT WITH FAYETTE WE'VE SEEN THAT THIS HAS, IT HAS HAD A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON THE SOIL AND WATER QUALITY IN FAYETTE COUNTY. UH, SPECIFICALLY WITH THE PECAN PEAKERS OF THE PECAN, UM, FARMERS THAT WERE ALL OVER ORGANIZING. 'CAUSE BASICALLY FAYETTE HAS DESTROYED THEIR INDUSTRY AND THEIR FARMING. SO WE DON'T HAVE ANY DATA ON ANY OF THAT. UH, AND IT HAS NOT BEEN DISCLOSED BY AUSTIN ENERGY COUNCIL MEMBERS DO NOT HAVE THIS DATA EITHER. SO, YEAH, I DON'T KNOW. I FEEL LIKE IT'S JUST A LOT OF RAMBLING THAT I'VE BEEN SAYING. BUT, BUT YEAH, I FEEL LIKE IF THERE'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN ADD ALONG THE LINES OF LIKE POSTPONE THE VOTE EVEN IF THEY STILL VOTE TOMORROW, WHICH IS GONNA BE LIKELY, UM, JUST TO HAVE IT ON THE RECORD THAT THAT'S WHAT WE ARE ASKING FOR, I THINK WOULD BE IMPORTANT. UM, BUT YEAH. YEAH, I FEEL LIKE YEAH, THOSE ARE LIKE THE MAIN THINGS THAT HAPPENED, UM, GOING ON. THAT'S GREAT. THAT WAS, THAT WAS REALLY HELPFUL. UM, SO I, I ADDED A COUPLE, OH NO, GO AHEAD. OH, I WAS JUST GONNA SAY, I HEARD THE TWO NOTES ABOUT POSTPONING THE VOTE AND TIMELINE FOR CLOSING. FAYETTE. WE HAVE SOME LANGUAGE, BUT IF YOU WANT TO COME UP WITH SPECIFIC LANGUAGE, WHAT I THINK WE CAN DO IS JUST DO A REACTION ROUND FOR ALL THE COMMISSIONERS AND THEN AT THE END, LET'S KIND OF ASSESS WHERE WE ARE AND INCORPORATE AMENDMENTS. UM, SO COMMISSIONER SULLIVAN. PARDON ME? CHAIR. YES. SORRY. WE DO HAVE A SPEAKER ON THIS ITEM. OH, I'M SO SORRY. THANK YOU FOR STOPPING ME MY TRACK, SIR. OKAY, LET'S GO TO PUBLIC COMMENT. OKAY. [00:50:01] UH, CHRIS FLORES. CHRIS, YOU'LL HAVE THREE MINUTES TO EXPRESS MY GRATITUDE FOR WHAT YOU GUYS ARE DOING. YOU'RE READING MY THOUGHTS. UM, UH, IF THERE WAS A WAY TO CONNECT THE PEAKER UNITS, WHICH SEEM INEVITABLE TO THE CLOSING DOWN OF THE FAYETTEVILLE PLANT, THAT WOULD BE MY ONLY SUGGESTION BECAUSE IT, IT, IT WOULD MAKE SENSE TO REMOVE THE COAL AND REPLACE IT WITH GAS AND THEN EVENTUALLY REMOVE THE GAS AND REPLACE IT WITH SOLAR. UM, IT SHOULD BE SOME KIND OF A PLANNED TRANSITION. UNFORTUNATELY, I THINK THE PRESSURE'S ON AUSTIN TO PARTICIPATE IN GAS, UH, BECAUSE THIS IS A GAS STATE. UM, BUT ANYTHING YOU GUYS CAN DO TO POSTPONE IT AND MAKE IT CLEAR AND MAKE IT, UH, UH, A TEMPORARY STEP TOWARDS A BETTER POWER FUTURE. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS. THAT CONCLUDES THE SPEAKERS FOR THIS ITEM. GREAT. THANK YOU COMMISSIONER SULLIVAN. WELL, I'LL, I'LL TELL YOU ONE THING ABOUT THE WAY ELECTRIC POWER WORKS. FIRST, THERE'S BASE LOAD AND LIKE THE FAYETTE POWER PLANT OR A NUCLEAR PLANT THAT'S ON ALL THE TIME. THAT'S THE BASE LOAD PEAKING IS WHEN YOU HAVE EXCESS DEMAND. AND SO A NATURAL GAS PLANT CAN BE TURNED ON AND THAT AND RUN FOR A SHORT TIME PERIOD, BUT IT'S VERY HARD TO TURN OFF A, A COAL BURNING POWER PLANT OR A NUCLEAR PLANT. BUT NATURAL GAS CAN BE TURNED ON AND OFF. SO THAT'S WHY THERE'S A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PEAK UH, POWER PLANTS AND BASE LOAD POWER PLANTS. SO I DON'T KNOW ABOUT REPLACING THE FA FAYETTE PLANT WITH A WHOLE BUNCH OF NATURAL GAS PLANTS 'CAUSE YOU HAVE TO HAVE THEM ON ALL THE TIME. UM, I'D RATHER REPLACE IT WITH SOLAR ENERGY AND BATTERY STORAGE. SO I THANK YOU. ALRIGHT, LET'S GO NEXT TO COMMISSIONER MORRISON. NO COMMENTS FROM ME. COMMISSIONER FLURY. UH, ONLY THING COMES TO MIND ON PREVIOUS CONVERSATIONS WE HAD. UM, ARE, YOU KNOW, IN TIMES OF PEAK DEMAND AND, YOU KNOW, STORM SURGE OR SOMETHING THAT ENERGY'S GOING TO WHERE IT'S NEEDED MOST. AND SO SEEING THAT THESE GAS PEAKERS COULD BE SUPPORTING DATA CENTERS OF MAINTAINING OUR ONEDRIVE, YOU KNOW, BILLION PHOTOS OUT IN THE ONE CLOUD, UM, THAT WE WOULD WANT. LIKE, HEY, IF THESE ARE GONNA BE IMPACTING, LET'S MAKE SURE THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, GETTING TO THE RESOURCES THAT NEED IT MOST. UM, A LOT OF THE DATA CENTERS ARE DOING THEIR OWN POWER GENERATION, RIGHT? THEY'VE GOT MANY, UH, NUCLEAR PLANTS NOW IS ONE OF THE NEW THINGS THAT THEY'RE, UM, USING NEW ONES. I'LL THINK OF ONE SPECIFICALLY ON WHAT BURLESON DRIVE. I DON'T KNOW IF IT HAS ITS OWN ENERGY SOURCE, BUT, UM, THE, THE EXISTING ONES, I'D BE CURIOUS HOW, UM, THEY'RE MAINTAINED. YEAH. UM, AND I DO WISH WE HAD, WE INVITED AUSTIN ENERGY TO COME TODAY, BUT I BELIEVE THEY DECLINED. SO I DO WISH WE HAD SOMEONE WHO COULD ANSWER YOU DIRECTLY. 'CAUSE THOSE ARE GREAT QUESTIONS THAT I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW THE ANSWERS TO. I COMMISSIONER C***K THAT, UM, THANK YOU, UH, COMMISSIONER FIERRO FOR THAT. JUST ALL OF THOSE COMMENTS. UM, I FIND THAT DEEPLY DISTURBING . I HAD LIKE CHILLS AS YOU WERE SAYING THAT. UM, I'M, YEAH. ASIDE FROM PUSHING BACK THE VOTE, UM, I KNOW WITH THE FAYETTE POWER PLANT, THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF EFFORTS TO SHUT IT DOWN OVER THE YEARS. AND I THINK THAT THERE'S KIND OF LIKE A BATTLE BETWEEN THE L-L-C-R-A AND AUSTIN ENERGY, FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND, AS SOME OF IT IS OWNED BY THE CITY AND SOME OF IT IS NOT. UM, YEAH, I GET THAT, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE INCREASING ENERGY DEMANDS, BUT I REALLY JUST DON'T WANNA SEE MORE GAS FIRED PLANTS. I REALLY DON'T WANNA SEE THEM IN AREAS WHERE, YOU KNOW, THE PUBLIC HASN'T BEEN ENGAGED AT ALL. AND I ALSO DON'T EVEN UNDERSTAND HOW THAT'S ALLOWED. UM, I DON'T KNOW. YEAH. [00:55:01] I'M, I AM DISTURBED BY THIS HONESTLY. COMMISSIONER BRIMER. YEAH. THANK YOU. I, UH, SUPPORT THE ENTIRE IDEA OF WHAT, UH, COMMISSIONER CREARY, UH, REI AND, UH, FIRO HAVE PROPOSED. UM, I, I THINK THAT THE, UH, RECOMMENDATION NEEDS TO BE A LITTLE BIT MORE AGGRESSIVE. UH, YOU KNOW, FRANKLY, I THINK THE BEST WAY TO ADDRESS DEMAND IS ACTUALLY TO REDUCE DEMAND. UH, PEAKERS ARE KIND OF LIKE GAS PLANTS FOR DATA CENTERS. UH, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE, IF YOU LOOK INTO, UH, ISSUES WITH, UH, DATA CENTER GAS PLANTS, UH, THE POLLUTION THEY CREATE AND THE NOISE AND OTHER RELATED ISSUES ARE VERY SUBSTANTIAL TO THE PEOPLE THAT IT'S NEAR. THAT'S NO INDICATION THAT I'VE HEARD IN THIS DISCUSSION IS WHERE THESE ARE GONNA BE MANU, YOU KNOW, BE BUILT. OKAY. SO WITH THAT SAID, UH, I THINK THERE'S NEEDS TO BE SOMETHING PUT IN THERE ABOUT NOISE MONITORING, NOISE REDUCTION, UH, POLLUTION MONITORING, POLLUTION REDUCTION, PUBLIC NOTIFICATION WITHIN A MILE OF THIS, BECAUSE THESE GAS TURBINES MAKE A LOT OF NOISE. AND THIS IS A LOT OF, UH, A LOT OF THE CONCERNS THAT PEOPLE HAVE WITH THESE TURBINES THAT, UH, ARE BEING DONE WITH THESE DATA CENTERS, UH, THAT, YOU KNOW, THEY, THEY ARE BUILT NEAR, YOU KNOW, RESIDENTIAL AREAS OR EVEN SOME COMMERCIAL SITES AND THE NOISE IS, UH, OBNOXIOUS. SO THESE ARE THINGS THAT SHOULD BE REFERENCED, I BELIEVE IN, YOU KNOW, THE THEREFORE THINGS, THEREFORE WE NEED TO ADDRESS THESE ISSUES. UH, BUT GETTING BACK TO MY ORIGINAL STATEMENT IS WE NEED TO REDUCE THE DEMAND. AND I KNOW IN THIS, HAVE I HEARD A DISCUSSION OF HOW MUCH EXCESS POWER NEEDS TO BE GENERATED BY THESE PEAKERS? UH, I'M, I'M SURE SOMEONE HAS THAT NUMBER, BUT IF WE CAN REDUCE THE DEMAND SOMEWHERE ELSE, THEN WE MAYBE CAN EITHER REDUCE THE NUMBER OF PEAKERS OR MAYBE FOREGO THEIR NECESSITY TO SOME DEGREE. NOW, INSTALLED SOLAR PANELS ON MY HOUSE. I GOT A, YOU KNOW, FINANCIAL COMPENSATION BY AUSTIN ENERGY FOR THAT. I, YOU KNOW, SO THERE ARE PROGRAMS. AUSTIN ENERGY HAS TO INSTALL ENERGY SAVING STUFF. SO IF YOU'RE AUSTIN ENERGY AND YOU CAN BUILD A PEAKER, WHAT'S THE COST OF THEM JUST GOING TO EVERY HOUSE IN AUSTIN AND INSTALLING SOLAR PANELS? OKAY, NOW THE CITY CAN OWN THE PANELS, RIGHT? SO THE RESIDENT DOESN'T OWN THEM, BUT THEY GO ON THE ROOF OF, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THE RESIDENT'S HOUSE OR THE BUILDING, RIGHT? IF IT'S A COMMERCIAL FACILITY. AND SO WHEN YOU DO THAT, THE CITY OWNS THAT STUFF AND IT'S GENERATING POWER AND IT GOES TO CITY OWNED BATTERIES THAT STORE THE ELECTRICITY FOR NEED. NOW THIS DOESN'T MEAN THE NEED FOR PEAKERS GOES AWAY, BUT LET'S SAY YOU'RE GONNA GO, YOU BUILD FIVE, LET'S PRETEND AND WE CAN INSTALL SOME OTHER ALTERNATIVE ENERGY SOURCE. WELL NOW YOU DON'T BUILD FIVE, MAYBE YOU BUILD THREE OR TWO. I DON'T KNOW. BECAUSE THERE'S NO DATA THAT I'VE GOT THAT SHOWS ANYTHING AND I KIND OF GO BY DATA IN CASE ANYONE HADN'T NOTICED. UH, BUT YOU KNOW, IF WE CAN, YOU KNOW, AND, AND I GOT BROWNIE POINTS FROM THE CITY FOR INSTALLING, YOU KNOW, INSULATION IN MY HOUSE. THEY CAME BY AND THEY GAVE ME A CREDIT. SO WHAT IF THE CITY LOOKED AT THE HOUSES THAT CONSUMED THE MOST ELECTRICITY AND THEY JUST WENT IN AND SAY, I'M GONNA INSTALL, YOU KNOW, INSTALLATION YOUR HOUSE. BOOM, NO CHARGE. SO WHAT WE'RE DOING IS WE'RE NOT BUILDING PLANTS. WHAT WE'RE DOING IS REDUCING THE NEED FOR ADDITIONAL PLANTS. THIS IS AN ALTERNATIVE STRATEGY TO BUILDING MORE POWER PLANTS, RIGHT? SO THERE IS AN ALTERNATIVE TO BUILDING PEAKERS OR EVEN A NEW NUCLEAR POWER PLANT OR WHATEVER YOUR THING [01:00:01] IS, RIGHT? SO I THINK THAT IN THEREFORES WE SHOULD ADDRESS ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES LIKE NOISE POLLUTION, PUBLIC NOTIFICATION WITHIN A MILE, THE PLANT. BUT WE SHOULD ALSO SPECIFICALLY CALL FOR CITY FACILITIES, CITY OWNED FACILITY, ALL HAVE SOLAR PANELS INSTALLED. ALL OF 'EM. I MEAN THERE'S NOT, THERE'S NO NO CHOICE. ALL OF 'EM. AND THEY HAVE BATTERY BACKUPS INSTALLED ON THE SIDE. OKAY? AND IT'S LIKE THIS ISN'T AN OPTION, OKAY? THIS PREVENTS THE NEED FOR BUILDING ELECTRIC POWER PLANTS. AND MAYBE, LIKE I SAID, MAYBE AUSTIN ENERGY OWNS THEM. I DON'T KNOW. BUT THIS IS JUST AN OPTION I THINK WE SHOULD CALL OUT DIRECTLY AND ARE THEREFORES AS SOMETHING THAT SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS ALTERNATIVE. AND THE ADVANTAGE OF THIS IS THESE THINGS ARE DONE INCREMENTALLY. SO THE COST IS FAR LESS THAN BUILDING A NEW PLANT. BUT THAT'S MY FAULT. SECRETARY ING. YEAH. SO ONE OF THE THEREFORES WAS DIRECTING THE CITY MANAGER CONDUCTING INDEPENDENT ECONOMIC ANALYSIS TO EVALUATE THE FEASIBILITY OF IMPLEMENTING ZERO EMISSIONS TECHNOLOGIES AND ENERGY MANAGEMENT COMPARED TO GAS PEAKERS. I FEEL LIKE ENERGY MANAGEMENT KIND OF CAPTURES WHAT YOU WERE SAYING AS FAR AS LIKE REDUCING DEMAND, OBVIOUSLY I THINK WHAT YOU STATED AS FAR AS LIKE SPECIFICALLY RECOMMENDING ALTERNATIVES OF, YOU KNOW, DIRECTING AUSTIN ENERGY TO INVESTIGATE UM, YOU KNOW, PUTTING SOLAR PANELS ON RESIDENTIAL OR COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES, UM, YOU KNOW, VERSUS BUILDING, YOU KNOW, GAS PEAKERS OR WHATEVER. UM, SO YEAH, YOU KNOW, I'M CURIOUS WHETHER WE SHOULD JUST LIKE MAKE THAT A SPECIFIC CALL OUT THAT LIKE, HEY, THIS IS SOMETHING, 'CAUSE IT KIND OF SOUNDS LIKE THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR. YEAH, SOMETIMES I THINK THAT, THAT IF YOU MAKE SOMETHING VAGUELY WORDED, THEY TEND TO IGNORE IT, RIGHT? BUT IF YOU MAKE SOMETHING REALLY SPECIFIC, IT MAKES IT MORE CHALLENGING FOR THEM TO IGNORE IT. BECAUSE YOU'VE SAID LOOK AT SOLAR PANELS ON EVERY HOUSE IN AUSTIN OWNED BY AUSTIN ENERGY, THEN WELL THEY CAN'T SAY WE DIDN'T THINK OF THAT. WELL, WE TOLD YOU TO THINK OF IT, BUT LIKE I SAID, YOU KNOW, YOU COVERED IT. BUT I'M JUST SAYING LET'S BE REALLY DIRECT AND AGGRESSIVE ABOUT WHAT WE'RE TELLING COUNSEL AND AUSTIN ENERGY TO DO. LET'S NOT BE BASHFUL. I, YEAH, SO MAYBE IN THAT ONE SAYING, YOU KNOW, UH, CONDUCTING INDEPENDENT ECONOMIC ANALYSIS TO EVALUATE THE FEASIBILITY OF IMPLEMENTING ZERO EMISSIONS TECHNOLOGIES AND ENERGY MANAGEMENT PARENTHESES SUCH AS HAVING AUSTIN ENERGY BUILD SOLAR PANELS AND RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES THAT THEY CAN COLLECT ENERGY ON. I FEEL LIKE I KIND OF LOST BRAIN POWER TOWARDS THE END. SO I DON'T KNOW IF COLLECT ENERGY ON IS REALLY THE CORRECT WAY TO PHRASE THAT, BUT THAT'S KIND OF GENERATE ENERGY FROM GENERATE, GENERATE ENERGY FROM, RIGHT. AND THEY CAN SAVE IT ON BATTERIES OR USE DURING BROWNOUTS OR BLACKOUTS OR WHATEVER, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER GOES ON, YOU KNOW. YEAH. YOU CAN TELL I PLAYED TOO MANY VIDEO GAMES AS A CHILD. I'M LIKE, WE'RE COLLECTING ENERGY, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GENERATING ENERGY. THAT'S WHAT WE'RE DOING. YEAH. WELL KEEP YOUR RADIO STATION GOING. YEAH. AND THEN I ALSO ADDED, UH, DIRECT THE SAME MANAGER CAN TO CONDUCT AN INDEPENDENT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ANALYSIS ON DEVELOPING THE GAS PEAKER FACILITIES VERSUS IMPLEMENTING ZERO EMISSION TECHNOLOGIES AND ENERGY MANAGEMENT. UM, OR MAYBE I CAN JUST THROW THAT IN THERE AND SAY INDEPENDENT ECONOMIC ANALYSIS AND ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS OR ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STUDY. SO MAYBE WE CAN DO THAT. RIGHT. I THINK SEPARATE KIND OF HIGHLIGHTS THE IMPORTANCE OF BOTH THOUGH. YEAH. OR WE CAN, IT DOESN'T GET LOST. NO SWEAT OFF MY BACK. UM, ALRIGHT, I'LL JUST A JUMP IN HERE. I'M GLAD THAT WE'RE HEARING A LOT OF DIFFERENT AMENDMENTS. I WANTED TO THANK SECRETARY KSI FOR BRINGING THIS UP AND FOR COMMISSIONER FIERRO FOR GIVING THE ADDED CONTEXT AND FACTS. UM, AND I WANTED TO SPEAK TO SOMETHING THAT YOU BROUGHT UP ABOUT, UM, SORT OF THE POLITICS OF THIS AND SAYING THAT IT'S GOING TO HAPPEN, WHICH I UNDERSTAND, BUT THERE'S A PART OF ME THAT IS JUST, IT WON'T HAPPEN UNLESS WE LET IT, YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? LIKE IF WE CAN ORGANIZE AROUND IT. UM, AND I KNOW WITH THE CODA PUT AMENDMENT THAT WE SAW, THERE [01:05:01] WAS SOME VIGOROUS DEBATE ON THIS COMMISSION ABOUT WHAT IS THE MOST EFFECTIVE STRATEGY FOR US TO GET OUR POINT ACROSS. AND WE DISCUSSED INTERNALLY, IS IT TO VOTE NO ON THE AMENDMENT OR IS IT TO VOTE YES WITH A LONG LIST OF CONDITIONS AND ULTIMATELY THE BODY DECIDED TO VOTE YES WITH A LONG LIST OF CONDITIONS. AND I KNOW COUNCIL MEMBER FUENTES SPECIFICALLY WHEN IT CAME BEFORE COUNCIL SAID QUOTE, WELL, THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION VOTED YES ON THIS. AND SO UNFORTUNATELY, I DON'T KNOW THAT COUNCIL ALWAYS LOOKS AT ALL OF OUR LONG LIST OF CONDITIONS AND REALLY GETS THE IMPACT. BUT IF THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION SAYS NO, I DO THINK THAT THAT CAN CAN SEND A STRONG MESSAGE. SO OF COURSE, EVERYONE DO WHAT, WHAT THEY FEEL IN ALIGNMENT WITH. UM, BUT HEARING THAT HELPED ME CHANGE SOME OF MY FRAMING IN TERMS OF JUST STRATEGIZING. SO IF WE WERE TO PUT SOMETHING FORWARD TODAY THAT SAID, WE REJECT THE AUTHORIZATION OF THESE PEAKERS, WHICH PERSONALLY WOULD BE MY PREFERENCE OVER POSTPONING A VOTE, LET'S BE STRONG. LET'S SAY WE REJECT IT, AT LEAST PERSONALLY, I WOULD REJECT THIS OUTRIGHT. UM, THAT'S A STARTING POINT. THE COUNCIL CAN'T SAY, WELL, YOU KNOW, ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION SAID TO POSTPONE IT. OR, UM, IF WE SAY, REJECT IT, WHATEVER PUBLIC SPEAKERS GO BEFORE COUNCIL TOMORROW, THEY CAN POINT TO THIS AND SAY, JUST LAST NIGHT THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION SAID THAT THEY REJECT THIS. AND I THINK THAT'S POWERFUL. YOU KNOW, WE, WE AS A COMMISSION DO HAVE POWER AND AUTHORITY, UM, AND PEOPLE REFERENCE WHAT WE DO HERE. SO I'M NOT READY TO GIVE UP YET. THAT'LL BE AN AMENDMENT THAT, THAT I WOULD PUT FORWARD TO THIS IS TO SAY, REJECT THE AUTHORIZATION. UM, SO WITH THAT, LET'S, LET'S HEAR SOME, SOME FORMAL AMENDMENTS. SO THE FIRST, I GUESS I'LL, I'LL PUT FORWARD, UM, WHICH COMBINES SORT OF WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, REJECT THE AUTHORIZATION OF AUSTIN ENERGY TO DEVELOP AND EXECUTE ANY CONTRACT TO PURCHASE GAS PEAKER POWER GENERATION. IS THERE A SECOND? I'LL SECOND THAT. OKAY. SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER OR SECRETARY QURESHI. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE INDICATE BY RAISING YOUR HAND. OKAY. WE HAVE ONE, TWO TH OH, OKAY. UN UNANIMOUS. WAITING FOR YOU. COMMISSIONER CHINKS IT. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT, SO THAT HAS BEEN ADOPTED. UM, AND THEN COMMISSIONER, ANY OBJECTIONS? YEAH. OKAY. UM, AND THEN COMMISSIONER RESI, YOU ADDED BASED ON COMMISSIONER BREMER'S POINTS, UM, FOR ITEM NUMBER SIX, I'LL JUST READ IT IN ITS ENTIRETY. DIRECT THE CITY MANAGER TO CONDUCT AN INDEPENDENT ECONOMIC ANALYSIS TO EVALUATE THE FEASIBILITY OF IMPLEMENTING ZERO EMISSIONS TECHNOLOGIES AND ENERGY MANAGEMENT. PARENTHESES, SUCH AS HAVING AUSTIN ENERGY BUILDS SOLAR PANELS ON RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES THAT THEY CAN GENERATE ENERGY FROM COMPARED TO GAS PEAKS, INCLUDING THE FINANCIAL IMPACTS OF THE ADDED GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS AND LOCAL AIR POLLUTION. UM, ALRIGHT. SO WE HAVE AN AMENDMENT THERE. IS THERE A SECOND FOR THAT? I'LL SECOND IT. OKAY. SO WE'LL SAY BRIMER INTRODUCED THAT, SECONDED BY RESI, ANY OPPOSITION TO INCLUDING THAT? OKAY. HEARING NONE. THE NEXT ONE THAT WE HEARD WAS, UM, DIRECT THE CITY MANAGER TO CONDUCT AN INDEPENDENT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ANALYSIS ON DEVELOPING THESE GAS PEAKER FACILITIES VERSUS IMPLEMENTING ZERO EMISSIONS TECHNOLOGIES AND ENERGY MANAGEMENT PUT FORWARD BY SECRETARY RESI. IS THERE A SECOND? I'LL SECOND. SECONDED BY SULLIVAN. ANY OBJECTIONS TO INCLUDING THAT? OKAY. ANY FURTHER DEBATE ON THE MOTION AS A WHOLE OR ANY OTHER AMENDMENTS? ALL RIGHT. HEARING NONE, LET'S GO AHEAD AND, UM, CONSIDER THE ORIGINAL MOTION, WHICH IS THE RECOMMENDATION ON AUSTIN ENERGY GAS PEAKERS AND ALTERNATIVES. AND WE WILL DO A ROLL CALL VOTE STARTING WITH COMMISSIONER BRIMER APPROVE. COMMISSIONER CHANG. SET. WAIT, SORRY, I JUST WANNA CLARIFY. SO THIS IS WHEN WE ARE APPROVING, WE'RE SAYING THAT BASICALLY TO YOUR POINT EARLIER, LIKE THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION IS APPROVING THIS OR WE'RE OVERALL REJECTING IT, WE'RE THE, THE TOP THEREFORE IS REJECT THE AUTHORIZATION OF OKAY. APPROVE. YES, . I KNOW IT'S CONFUSING. OKAY. COMMISSIONER FLURRY APPROVE. UH, COMMISSIONER MORRISON, APPROVE. SECRETARY KY APPROVE. UH, COMMISSIONER SULLIVAN, APPROVE. COMMISSIONER FIERRO APPROVE. AND I ALSO VOTE FOR, SO MOTION PASSES UNANIMOUSLY. THANK YOU ALL. ALRIGHT, WITH THAT, ARE [4. Discussion and action to approve a recommendation to Council to purchase property located at 6202 and 6204 Caddie Street, 1600, 1604, 1606, 1608, 1610, 1612, and 1614 Montopolis Drive, and 6205, 6211, and 6215 Fairway Street. Presented by Susana Almanza, Poder. Sponsors: Vice Chair Bristol and Secretary Qureshi. (Part 2 of 2)] WE READY TO GO BACK TO ITEM NUMBER FOUR? YES, CHAIR. WE HAVE THE PRESENTATION NOW. OKAY, PERFECT. YEAH, SORRY ABOUT THE MIX UP. THAT'S FINE. AND JUST TO REREAD THAT IT'S DISCUSSION AND ACTION. TO APPROVE A RECOMMENDATION TO COUNSEL TO PURCHASE PROPERTY LOCATED AT 6 2 0 2 6 2 0 4 CADDY STREET 1616 0 4 16 0 6 16 0 8 16. [01:10:02] 10 16 12 AND 1614 MONTOPOLIS DRIVE AND 62 0 5 62 11, AND 62 15 FAIRWAY STREET. PRESENTED BY SUSANA ALMANZA, UM, FROM PORE SPONSORS, VICE CHAIR, BRISTOL, AND SECRETARY QURESHI. HI EVERYONE, MY NAME IS CARLOS PINON. UH, JUST TO REITERATE ON THE RESILIENCE PROGRAM COORDINATOR, FULLED, AND APOLOGIES IF THIS IS A BIT STILL TO, THIS IS ACTUALLY A PRESENTATION THAT, UH, WAS GIVEN, UM, WHEN WE TOOK THIS CASE, UH, TO CITY COUNCIL FOR THE ZONING, UM, BY LIESL PAPEN HAEN, A STUDENT, UH, IN THE JACKSON SCHOOL OF GEOSCIENCES. WE WORK WITH, UM, PRETTY CLOSELY AROUND, UH, THE EFFECTS OF EROSION, UM, UM, IMPERVIOUS COVER ON EROSION OF THE COLORADO RIVER, UM, SPECIFICALLY IN MONTOPOLIS. AND SO THEIR STUDY WAS CALLED THE BANK LINE RETREAT ANALYSIS ALONG THE LOWER COLORADO RIVER, UH, REVEALS A STRONG IMPRINT OF HUMAN INDUCED EROSION. UM, THIS IS JUST THE FIRST SLIDE THAT THEY PRESENTED TO STUDY COUNCIL, KIND OF OVERVIEWING, UM, IMPERVIOUS COVER, AS YOU KNOW, ANY SURFACE THAT PREVENTS RAINWATER FROM FLOWING THROUGH IT. UM, THEY MADE A DISTINCTION BETWEEN TOTAL IMPERVIOUS COVER, WHICH OF COURSE IS THE TOTAL PROPORTION OF WATERSHED SOIL BLOCKED BY CEMENT, ASPHALT BUILDINGS, ET CETERA. UM, AND EFFECTIVE IMPERVIOUS COVER, WHICH IS WHAT WE'RE CONCERNED ABOUT, UM, CEMENT, ASPHALT AND DRAINAGE SYSTEMS THAT FUNNELED WATER DIRECTLY INTO THE RIVER. UM, THIS ALLOWS STORM WATER TO MOVE VERY FAST. AND BY DELIVERING THE WATER TO THE RIVER DIRECTLY, IT MOVES SEDIMENT, EASILY DESTABILIZES RIVER BANKS AND IS ASSOCIATED WITH HIGH EROSION RATES. UM, SO IMMEDIATELY AFTER AND DURING A STORM EVENT, WE SEE A RUSH OF RUNOFF MOVE TOWARD THE RIVER. UH, BUT BECAUSE SO LITTLE OF IT, UH, INFILTRATES INTO THE SOIL, WE SEE A REALLY LOW AND SLOW BASE FLOW IN BETWEEN STORMS. THE CYCLE OF WE AND DRYING AND THE FLOOD OF WATER AFTER A STORM, LIKE I SAID, DESTABILIZE THE BANK, MAKING IT ERODE MUCH FASTER THAN WHAT WE WOULD EXPECT FROM A NATURAL RIVER. NOW WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE. UM, AND SO HERE IT'S JUST A DEMONSTRATION OF HOW, UH, WITHIN THE LOOK COLORADO RIVER FLOODPLAIN, WE'VE SEEN THE PROPORTION OF IMPERVIOUS COVER INCREASE BY ABOUT 50%, UH, SINCE 1985. UM, I BELIEVE THAT IF YOU CLICK THROUGH THAT, IT'S GONNA LIKE, I GUESS BE A TIME LAPSE. LET'S SEE. OH, YOU CAN CLICK AGAIN. YEAH. OKAY. UM, NEXT SLIDE. UH, SO THIS IS ON TOPLESS. THIS IS WHERE LIESEL DID THEIR STUDY. UM, IT'S MORE BROAD. THEY ACTUALLY CAN, THEY COMPARED IT TO A CONTROL SITE IN MCKINNEY ROUGHS. BUT HERE, UM, I GUESS REALLY FOCUSING ON THE COLORADO VERY AND MONTOPOLIS, UH, YOU CAN SEE THAT THE CUMULATIVE EROSION ACROSS THREE TIME INTERVALS FROM, UH, LONGHORN DAM TO 180 3. UH, EACH RED AREA REPRESENTS A LOSS OF SEDIMENT VOLUMES CALCULATED FROM, UH, DIGITAL ELEVATION MODELS OR DIGITAL RENDITIONS OF EARTH SERVICE CREATED FROM LIDAR DATA. UM, THERE ARE TWO LARGE URBAN GOLY FEATURES ERODING OUT OF THE LAND. AND SO THE DARKER RED ONE IS OLDER AND SMALLER, BUT THE YOUNGER LARGER FEATURE, UH, HAS ACTUALLY ERODED OUT MUCH FASTER THAN ITS COUNTERPART DUE TO THE INCREASE IN IMPERVIOUS COVER IN AUSTIN. UM, THE MONTOPOLIS AREA IS ADDITIONALLY SUSCEPTIBLE TO EROSION ALONG THE RIVER DUE TO THE LONGHORN DAM REMOVING SEDIMENT FROM THE WATER SUCH THAT THE WATER THAT PASSES THROUGH IS VERY CLEAR. THIS MAKES THE WATER LIKELY TO PICK UP SEDIMENT AND ERODE THE BANK. UM, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. YEAH, I GUESS YOU CAN HERE, SEE HERE LIKE THE BOUNDARIES OF THE DAM AND, UM, OF 180 3. UH, THIS, THE FOURTH SLIDE SHOWING RESULTS OF VISUAL BANK LINE ANALYSIS SHOW, UH, UH, DISPLAYING HOW SECRET BEACH, UH, IN RO G**O HAS CHARGED, UH, CHANGED OVER A LARGE TIMESCALE. UM, THE ESTATES AT EAST RIVERSIDE WERE BUILT IN 1997, AND SO BY 2002, WE SEE RAPID EROSION ALONG THE RIVERBANK AS WELL AS, UH, URBAN GULLIES. UM, I THINK IF YOU CLICK THROUGH, THERE IS ALSO A TIME LAPSE HERE. UM, RESEARCH HAS FOUND A REPEATED PATTERN OF RAPID EROSION, UH, FOLLOWING CONSTRUCTION AND PREVIOUS COVER PLACEMENT. UM, AND SO FOR THE LAST SLIDE, UH, THIS IS ACTUALLY HOW YOU CAN SEE, I GUESS, THE CONTROL SITE VERSUS THE URBAN SITE. SO THIS STUDY ACTUALLY WAS DONE MEIS AND AUSTIN'S COLONY AND MCKINNEY ROUGHS. AND SO WHAT WE'RE MOST CONCERNED, OF COURSE ABOUT TODAY IS MEIS, UM, AND MCKINNEY ROUGHS. THE HYPOTHESIS, UM, HERE WAS THE, THAT PATTERNS OF TOTAL INFECTIVE IMPERVIOUS COVER AND THE FORM OF LAND USE CHANGE CONSTRUCTIONS, STORMWATER DRAINAGE SYSTEMS PAVEMENT AND INDUSTRIAL WATER DISCHARGE HAVE DRIVEN ACCELERATED HAZARDOUS EROSION PATTERNS NEAR MONTOPOLIS. UM, AND SO AS YOU CAN SEE, I THINK THE, THE, THE METRICS ARE IN, UH, CUBIC METERS PER YEAR. AND SO, UH, THE EROSION PATTERNS WE SEE AT MONTOPOLIS ARE 416 TIMES LARGER THAN THE EROSION PATTERNS WE SEE AT MCKINNEY ROUGHS, UH, WHICH WE KNOW OF COURSE IS A NATURE PRESERVE WITH NO CONSTRUCTION OR IMPERVIOUS COVER PLACED NEXT TO THE RIVER. UM, DEMONSTRATING THAT THIS IS JUST NOT WHAT RIVERS DO, WHERE MONTOPOLIS IS. [01:15:01] UM, YOU KNOW, WE KIND OF USE THIS RESEARCH SPECIFICALLY WITH, UH, THE CASE IN MONTOPOLIS TO, TO SAY, YOU KNOW, PLACING MORE CONSTRUCTION IMPERVIOUS COVER, ESPECIALLY WITH A PLAN THAT ALLOWS UP TO 80% IMPERVIOUS COVER IN SOME AREAS IS DEFINITELY ILL-ADVISED AS IT ACCELERATES AND EXACERBATES THE LAND LOSS ALONG THE COLORADO RIVER. UM, THE PROJECT ALSO DISCOVERED THAT DESPITE A HISTORIC DROUGHT BETWEEN 2012 AND 2017, THERE WAS NO CLEAR PATTERN REFLECTING THAT THE DROUGHT CAUSED A REDUCTION IN EROSION DEPOSITION. UM, THEREFORE, IMPERVIOUS COVER IN HUMAN LAND CHAIN LAND USE CHANGE, UH, APPEAR TO EXERT A GREATER CONTROL IN EROSION AND DEPOSITION THAN RIVER DISCHARGE PATTERNS IN HEAVILY URBANIZED AREAS SUCH AS MONTOPOLIS. UM, IF YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, IT'LL ALSO, THIS IS KIND OF LIKE BIFURCATED INTO TWO. IT'S AN AMALGAM OF A RESEARCH THAT LIESEL DID. UM, AND THEN ALSO WHAT WE'VE BEEN COMMUNICATING TO COMMUNITY MEMBERS ABOUT IMPERVIOUS COVER, UM, WITH ANOTHER STUDENT NAMED SIDNEY LIVING, UH, UNDER J BANNER IN THE JACKSON SCHOOL AS WELL. AND SO THIS KIND OF JUST DEMONSTRATES, YOU KNOW, THAT, UH, WITH IMPERVIOUS COVER COMES, UH, LOTS OF FLOODING, UH, THE REMOVAL OF TREES AND REPLACING THEM WITH CONCRETE. UH, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. UM, ALSO DECLINES THE WATER QUALITY. UM, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. UH, YEAH, WE'LL JUST SLIDE THROUGH THESE NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. . UM, AND THEN OF COURSE CONTRIBUTES TO URBAN HEAT ISLAND, UM, WHICH AS YOU CAN SEE HERE, UH, IN THIS MAP, THE RED IS A VEGETATION. AND SO IN SOMEWHERE LIKE BULL CREEK WHERE THERE'S A LOT OF PRESERVATION, UH, RULES, UM, VERY MUCH LOOKING DIFFERENT FROM THE ONE, UH, THE MAP OF SHOAL CREEK. UM, AND IF YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, I THINK THAT'S THE LAST ONE. UM, YEAH, SO HERE YOU CAN SEE THAT MONTOPOLIS, UH, JUST SOUTH OF THE RIVER, UM, HAS A HIGH AT SUMMER AVERAGE SURFACE TEMPERATURE ABOUT 1 0 9 TO ONE 12. UM, AND THIS IS DIRECTLY FROM THE CITY OF AUSTIN RESILIENCE HEAT MAP PLAYBOOK, I BELIEVE. UM, AND SO THIS KIND OF JUST IS UNDERPINNING THE, THE CASE WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE WITH, UH, YOU KNOW, ANOTHER HIGH DENSITY DEVELOPMENT COMING INTO MONIS. UM, WE ALREADY, LIKE I SAID, HAVE 4,000 APARTMENTS IN MONTOPOLIS. A LOT OF THOSE ARE NOT REALLY FOR THE COMMUNITY, UH, WHICH STANDS AT A 33% POVERTY RATE. UM, AND SO THIS RESEARCH WAS ACTUALLY PRODUCED, SPECIFICALLY LIESEL'S RESEARCH, UM, PRODUCES A PART OF THE BRIDGES PROGRAM, UH, SOMETHING THAT WE CO-LEAD WITH THE JACKSON SCHOOL OF GEOSCIENCES. UM, TRYING TO MAKE THESE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN, UM, WHAT COMMUNITY MEMBERS ARE SEEING IN THEIR OWN, YOU KNOW, LIVED EXPERIENCES, UH, MOST OF WHICH HAVE TO DO WITH GENTRIFICATION, HAVE TO DO WITH, UH, YOU KNOW, LIVING IN AN ENVIRONMENT THAT IS CONSTANTLY CHANGING, UM, WHILE ALSO TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY CAN HOLD ONTO THEIR HOMES. UM, AND SO WHAT LIESL, UH, WAS ABLE TO DO WHEN WE TOOK THIS TO CITY COUNCIL, UM, LAST MONTH WAS KINDA MAKE THE CONNECTION BETWEEN, UH, YOU KNOW, THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT, UM, AND SOMETHING THAT IS ABOUT MUCH MORE ABOUT, YOU KNOW, AFFORDABILITY, MUCH MORE ABOUT THE PRESERVATION OF COMMUNITIES, UH, NEIGHBORHOOD STABILITY, UM, CULTURAL STABILITY, UH, ET CETERA. AND SO, UM, THIS IS ALSO QUITE IMPERATIVE CONSIDERING THAT, UM, I GUESS JUST A BIT OF BACKGROUND ON THIS, WE WON THE CASE TO NOT OVERWRITE SINGLE FAMILY ZONING ON ONTOP LISTS WITH THESE LOTS. UM, BUT TWO WEEKS AGO WE WERE AT A HEARING AT CITY COUNCIL WHERE THEY PASSED A RESOLUTION TO ESSENTIALLY OVERRIDE ANY, ANY SINGLE FAMILY ZONING ACROSS ALL NEIGHBORHOOD PLANS TO BUILD TWO OR THREE UNITS AS A PART OF THE HOME INITIATIVE. AND SO WITH THOSE AMENDMENTS COMING IN, I THINK THEY HAD PASSED SOMETHING TO DO RESEARCH BY DECEMBER TO PROPOSE SOMETHING BY DECEMBER FOR A VOTE. UM, WE REALLY ARE TRYING TO GET THE CITY TO ACQUIRE THIS LAND SO THAT THE COMMUNITY CAN HAVE A SAY IN IT AND NOT, UM, YEAH, A DEVELOPER WHO WHOSE ONLY INTEREST IS REALLY LIKE COMING IN AND UH, PROFITING OFF, UH, HOUSING THAT IS NOT REALLY NEEDED AND ON TOPLESS GRANTED THAT THERE ARE ALREADY, LIKE I SAID, 4,000 APARTMENTS THERE. UM, WITH THAT I GUESS THANK YOU. UH, IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS I CAN TRY TO ANSWER THEM, BUT LIKE I SAID, IT'S RESEARCH THAT WAS DONE, UH, STEERED BY SUSANNA AND I, BUT NOT NECESSARILY WITH OUR EXPERTISE, IF THAT MAKES SENSE. THANK YOU SO MUCH. ARE THERE ANY PUBLIC COMMENTERS ON THIS ITEM? NICOLE? NO ONE HAS SIGNED UP FOR THIS ITEM. OKAY, PERFECT. ALRIGHT, WITH THAT, LET'S GO AHEAD AND GO TO COMMISSIONER COMMENTS, QUESTIONS, ET CETERA. START WITH COMMISSIONER FIERRO. I HAVE NO COMMENTS. THANK YOU. COMMISSIONER SULLIVAN. UM, COMMISSIONER MORRISON, NO COMMENTS, BUT THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION. COMMISSIONER FLURRY, UH, ONLY COMMENT I HAVE IS SUPPORT. THANK YOU FOR RESEARCH, UH, UH, DISTRICT TWO. [01:20:01] UM, AND SO I FREQUENT MONTOPOLIS BOULEVARD AND IT REALLY NEEDS JUST A, A MOBILITY PROJECT IMPROVEMENT. MORE HOUSING, MORE CARS IS ONLY GONNA MAKE THAT MORE UNCOMFORTABLE AS A PEDESTRIAN. AND, AND SO JUST COMPLETELY SUPPORT IT. COMMISSIONER CHIN. YEAH, I HAVE NO QUESTIONS. I JUST WANTED TO SAY THANKS FOR THE RESEARCH AS WELL, COMMISSIONER BRIER. YEAH, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, UH, FOR THE PRESENTATION. IT'S VERY WELL, UH, RESEARCHED AND PRESENTED. UH, I DO HAVE SOME QUESTIONS. UH, THE INTENT IS, IS TO HAVE THE CITY PURCHASE THIS AND MAINTAIN THIS, I MEAN, SO THE CITY PURCHASES THE LAND AND THE LAND IS ALREADY OCCUPIED BY SINGLE FAMILY HOMES. IS THAT CORRECT? NO, IF YOU CAN TURN THE MIC ON, UH, IT'S SINGLE FAMILY ZONING. YEAH. SO IS IT ALREADY OCCUPIED BY HOUSES? NO, NO, THOSE ARE VACANT LOTS. OKAY. THEY'RE VACANT LOTS. AND SO THEY WOULD, THE INTENT WOULD BE FOR THE CITY TO, UH, DEVELOP SINGLE FAMILY HOMES ON THERE FOR RENT OR LEASE OR SALE, OR HOW WOULD THAT WORK? I THINK IDEALLY HOME OWNERSHIP AND AT A, YOU KNOW, AT A METRIC THAT IS, UH, PRETTY RECEPTIVE TO THE, TO THE AFFORDABILITY METRICS IN MONTOPOLIS. UM, LIKE I SAID, THAT THERE IS A 33% POVERTY RATE, UM, THERE. AND SO, UM, YEAH, THAT'S KIND OF OUR WISH IS TO, TO WORK WITH THE CITY TO BE ABLE TO, TO BUILD UNITS THAT ARE FOR THE COMMUNITY THAT'S BEEN THERE AND ALSO LIKE STRUGGLING TO LIVE THERE AS WELL. I FULLY SUPPORT THAT. I'M NOT REALLY SURE THAT, THAT THE, UH, HOW DO I SAY THIS? I'M NOT SURE THE CITY'S EQUIPPED TO DO THAT, UH, BECAUSE THEY JUST DON'T DO THIS VERY WELL. THE CITY DEFINES AFFORDABLE DIFFERENT THAN I THINK WHAT YOU DEFINE AFFORDABLE IN THE CONTEXT OF MONTOPOLIS. UH, ALSO IF YOU TURN THE PROPERTY LOOSE AND YOU SELL IT EVEN UNDER THE DEF DEFINITION OF AFFORDABLE THAT YOU HAVE NOW, THEN THE SINGLE FAMILY LOTS WILL THEN BECOME A ZONE SINGLE FAMILY. BUT THEN THEY WILL, YOU KNOW, BE TURNED LOOSE UNDER THE HOME, UH, INITIATIVE. AND THEN THAT WILL REDEFINE, YOU KNOW, THE SCOPE INTO WHICH THEY CAN BE DEVELOPED. UH, I, I REALLY, REALLY AGREE WITH WHAT YOU'RE DOING AND I WILL VOTE TO SUPPORT THIS. I'M NOT REALLY SURE THIS IS GONNA PAN OUT THE WAY THAT IT'S GONNA WORK. THAT THE, THE THING THAT THAT KEEPS ON GOING BACK TO MY MIND IS, AND I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS A UH, OH, APPLES TO APPLES COMPARISON. THE CITY OWNS SOME PROPERTY, UH, OFF BURNETT ROAD AND UH, THEY KEPT ON SAYING WE'RE GONNA MAKE THIS AFFORDABLE HOUSING. AFFORDABLE HOUSING, AFFORDABLE HOUSING, AND NOW IT'S A SOCCER STADIUM. UH, YOU KNOW, THE CITY'S TRACK RECORD ON THIS IS REALLY NOT THAT GOOD, BUT, YOU KNOW, I FULLY SUPPORT EVERYTHING HERE. SECRETARY RESI. YEAH, I MEAN, YOU KNOW, CERTAINLY COMMISSIONER BRIBER ALWAYS, UH, GIVES ME CRAP 'CAUSE I'M ALWAYS LIKE, I REMEMBER. BUT, UH, I DO HAVE A FOND PLACE IN MY HEART FROM ON TOPLESS. I USED TO GO A LOT TO THE, UH, THE GROVE LIBRARY AS WELL AS THE, UH, A CC CAMPUS OVER THERE. AND I ALWAYS REMEMBER WALKING UP AND DOWN MONTOPOLIS AND RIVERSIDE GOING TO TOM GROVE AND RAY'S BARBECUE, ALTHOUGH I DON'T THINK THE BARBECUE SPOT IS THERE ANYMORE. UH, I REMEMBER ALWAYS SEEING THE SIGNS, UH, THAT RAPPERS WOULD PUT UP SAYING MONEY TOPLESS AND MURDER TOPLESS. SO BIG SHOUT TO EVERYBODY. MONTOPOLIS. SHOUT TO FOUR ONE FOR SURE. UM, YEAH, YOU KNOW, I GUESS, YOU KNOW, THE QUESTION IS IF THESE ARE VACANT LOTS, YOU KNOW, ARE THESE, DO WE WANNA SEE LIKE A PARK? LIKE, YOU KNOW, DO WE WANNA SEE TRAILS? YOU KNOW, Y'ALL HAVE MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, POSSIBLY HAVING SOME KIND OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING. SO DO WE WANT LIKE APARTMENTS THAT THE CITY OWNS OR PARTNERS WITH, LIKE A FOUNDATION, COMMUNITIES OR SOME KIND OF, UH, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE, WHAT ARE WE TRYING TO SEE HERE? LIKE WHAT DO YOU ALL WANT US TO RECOMMEND THAT THE CITY DOES? BECAUSE I THINK Y'ALL HAD JUST SAID AFFORDABLE HOUSING, BUT THAT CAN MEAN A LOT OF DIFFERENT THINGS, RIGHT? BECAUSE THAT CAN MEAN SHOVING 5,000 UNITS INTO THESE THINGS, YOU KNOW, SO IT'S LIKE, WHAT DOES, WHAT DOES MONTOPOLIS WANNA SEE THERE? BECAUSE I THINK THAT'S [01:25:01] SOMETHING THAT IS USEFUL TO RECOMMEND TO THE CITY. YEAH, I THINK THAT WHAT WE REALLY WANNA SEE IS, UM, IS A SINGLE FAMILY HOUSING THERE, AND THEN WE DO WANT TO, UH, HAVE THE HOUSING BUILT BECAUSE WHAT COSTS IS THE LAND, BUT IF WE OWN THE LAND, THEN WE CAN BUILD IT AT A LOWER, AT THE LOW INCOME, UH, UH, LEVEL. AND SO WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO, WE'RE NOT TRYING TO MAKE ANOTHER PARK. WE HAVE MONTA, UH, NEIGHBORHOOD PARK THERE, AND THEN WE HAVE A SMALLER PARK AND WE HAVE 365 ACRES OF THE ROY GUERRERO, COLORADO RIVER PARK. BUT WE ARE SURROUNDED, WE'RE BEING ENCASED, UH, BY APARTMENT. SO THE, I LOOK AT IT AS THE WAGONS ARE SURROUNDING THE PEOPLE THERE, THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE, AND THE TRAINS COMING TOO. SO ONCE THE TRAIN COMES, THEN THAT'S, YEAH, WE DON'T WANT THE ORANGE HORSE EITHER. SO, SO WE'RE TRYING TO KEEP SINGLE FAMILY HOUSING. UH, NOW WHAT IS GONNA COME, THAT'LL BE WHETHER WE'RE WORKING WITH GNDC, WHETHER WE'RE WORKING WITH HAKA, THERE'S A LOT OF POSSIBILITIES. BUT JUST FOR NOW, WE WOULD LIKE TO GET IT OUT OF THE DEVELOPER'S HANDS BECAUSE EVERY YEAR WE'RE HAVING TO FIGHT THIS SAME FIGHT. THERE'S OTHER HOUSES AROUND THIS EMPTY LOT. I'M, I'M NOT TELLING YOU THE WHOLE BLOCK IS EMPTY, IT'S NOT, IT'S HOUSING ON CADDY, THERE'S HOUSING ON FAIRWAY. AND SO WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS TAKE THIS, TAKE THIS PIECE OF LAND OFF THE ROAD FOR DEVELOPERS, UH, SO THAT WE CAN THEN COME TOGETHER AND SEE WHAT TYPE OF SINGLE HOUSING CAN BE BUILT THERE AND WHAT THE COMMUNITY REALLY NEEDS. YEAH. I MEAN, YOU KNOW, I LIVE ON THE EAST SIDE, SO, YOU KNOW, TRUST ME, I TOTALLY FEEL Y'ALL. I FEEL LIKE, YOU KNOW, WHAT ABOUT THE DUPLEXES? I FEEL LIKE THE TWO STORY DUPLEXES ARE SOMETHING I SEE EVERYWHERE NOW WHERE IT'S JUST LIKE, OH, HOW DO WE MAKE THIS WORTH EVEN MORE MONEY? THROW A TWO STORY DUPLEX ON THAT THING AND NOW WE'RE TALKING, YOU KNOW? SO IT'S LIKE, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT YOU'ALL WOULD CONSIDER SINGLE FAMILY HOUSING? Y'ALL ARE JUST TALKING LIKE OLD SCHOOL HOMES. LIKE ARE WE TALKING SMALL LOTS LIKE, YOU KNOW? YEAH, WE COULD DO S FOUR SINGLE, YOU KNOW, THE LOTS ARE SMALLER, BIGGER, BUT WHAT WE REALLY WANT IS MAKE SURE THAT IT'S FAMILIES, RIGHT. WE DON'T WANNA BE LIKE IT'S ONE BEDROOM OR TWO BEDROOMS BECAUSE MORE DOGS THAN KIDS. IT'S ALREADY, THAT'S THE FUTURE BOSTON, YEAH. THOUSAND, YOU KNOW, 4,000 UNITS THERE. SO WE REALLY DO NEED SINGLE FAMILY AND WE REALLY WANNA ADDRESS THE WHOLE ISSUE OF THE FLOODING AND THE EROSION AND THE HEAT ISLAND. AND SO WHEN WE LOOK AT THAT, IT'S LIKE, WHAT WE DON'T NEED IS MORE APARTMENTS BECAUSE WE ALREADY HAVE CLOSE TO 4,000 APARTMENT. AND PLUS THE HEART OF MAN TOPLESS, WHICH IS GETTING SMALLER, UH, IS SINGLE FAMILY. YEAH, I MEAN, TRUST ME AS, UH, YEAH, EVERY TIME I GO DOWN RIVERSIDE TO HEAD TO THE AIRPORT, I'M ALWAYS JUST LIKE, DAMN MORE APARTMENTS. OKAY. YEAH. SO TRUST ME, I TOTALLY FEEL YOU THERE. UH, NO OTHER QUESTIONS FOR I APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR COMING, FOR BEING HERE FOR YOUR PRESENTATION. UM, I AM EXCITED AT THE POTENTIAL FOR THE CITY TO PURCHASE LAND. THAT OPPORTUNITY DOESN'T COME UP VERY OFTEN FOR THE CITY. THAT'S SOMETHING WE'VE TALKED ABOUT HERE. WE HAVE THESE MITIGATION FUNDS THAT ARE AMASSING WEALTH. AND THEN AS THE PARCELS OF LAND JUST GET DEVELOPED, DEVELOPED, DEVELOPED, OUR OPPORTUNITY TO EXERCISE THOSE FUNDS TO PURCHASE PARCELS OF LAND IS JUST SHRINKING, SHRINKING, SHRINKING. SO I DO THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR THE CITY TO PURCHASE MORE LAND FOR A NUMBER OF REASONS, INCLUDING, UM, FOR THE THREE THINGS THAT YOU JUST HIGHLIGHTED, FLOODING, EROSION, AND HEAT ISLANDS. THOSE ARE ALL VERY REAL, VERY IMPORTANT AFFECTING SOUTHEAST AUSTIN IN PARTICULAR. AND SO I THINK FOR ME, IN MY CAPACITY AS AN ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSIONER, I'M THINKING, OKAY, IF THE CITY WERE TO PURCHASE THOSE LANDS, WHAT IS THE MOST IMPACTFUL THING THAT WE COULD DO TO MITIGATE FLOODING, TO MITIGATE EROSION, AND TO REDUCE THE URBAN HEAT ISLAND EFFECT? FOR ME, IT WOULD BE TO BUILD A PARK. TO HAVE A PARK TO RE UM, RESTORE THE LAND TO BLACKLAND PRAIRIE. UM, FOR, FOR COMMISSIONERS WHO WANNA LOOK UP THIS PROPERTY, IF YOU WANNA GO TO GOOGLE MAPS, TYPE IN 6 2 0 4 CADDY STREET, AND YOU CAN GET A NICE IMAGE OF WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE. NOW. UM, I HAVE FRIENDS WHO LIVE IN THIS AREA WHO ORGANIZE IN THIS AREA, AND THEY'VE TOLD ME THAT IT'S CURRENTLY FUNCTIONING AS KIND OF AN AD HOC MARKET WHERE THERE ARE POP-UP VENDORS. UM, SO TO ME I LIKE THE IDEA OF THERE BEING A PARK WITH SOME RESTORATION EFFORTS AND AN OPPORTUNITY FOR VENDORS TO, YOU KNOW, HAVE SMALL FAMILY BUSINESSES THERE. I ACKNOWLEDGE THAT I AM NOT CURRENTLY LIVING IN SOUTHEAST AUSTIN. I DON'T HAVE THE HISTORY THAT YOU ALL HAVE THERE. SO WHAT YOU ALL SAY MATTERS. AND ALSO I HAVE HEARD FROM OTHERS WHO HAVE LIVED THERE A WHILE WHO ARE ADVOCATING FOR, FOR THE PARK AND MARKET AREA AND FROM AN ENVIRONMENTAL PERSPECTIVE [01:30:01] TO ME, TO ADDRESS THE THREE THINGS THAT YOU ALL SAID, FLOODING, EROSION, HEAT, ISLANDS, I SEE THOSE AS MORE IMPACTFUL. SO JUST LOVE TO HEAR YOUR THOUGHTS ON THAT. YEAH, I THINK IT'S, THE COMMUNITY REALLY NEEDS HOUSING. YOU KNOW, I UNDERSTAND THE GREEN AND WE'RE, AND THAT'S WHY WE'RE SAYING HOUSING BECAUSE THEN IF YOU HAVE A YARD AND MICROORGANISMS, EVERYTHING BREAKS DOWN THERE. AND WE, WE NEED HOUSING MORE THAN WE NEED ANOTHER PARK. OKAY. BECAUSE THE PRESENT PARKS WE HAVE AREN'T MANAGED ANYWAY, AND WE CAN'T EAT THE PARK. WE CAN'T LIVE IN THE PARK, YOU KNOW, I UNDERSTAND THAT. AND I SAID WE'D HAVE 365 ACRES OF RO GUERRERO, COLORADO RIVER PARK, THAT'S OUR PARK. IT WAS AT THE BEGINNING. NOW IT'S A REGIONAL PARK, BUT THAT IS A PARK. SO IT'S NOT WHAT'S MORE IMPORTANT FOR THE PEOPLE. WE CAN'T LIVE IN THE PARK AND TO TURN, WE HAVE A BIG FLEA MARKET NEXT, IF YOU KNOW NEXT TO TOM GROVE, THERE IS A FLEA MARKET THAT'S THERE EVERY WEEKEND, EVERY WEEKEND. WE DON'T NEED ANOTHER FLEA MARKET. WE NEED HOUSING. MM-HMM . WE NEED HOUSING. THAT'S WHAT WE NEED. WE NEED HOUSING. WE'VE GOT ALL THE APARTMENTS AROUND IT. AND I UNDERSTAND WE ONLY HAVE 35% CANOPY. WE HAVE THE LOWEST AMOUNT CANOPY IN ALL OF AUSTIN, BUT WE NEED HOUSING. AND WE KNOW HOUSING IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PRIORITY ISSUE. UH, AND THE UT REPORT SAYS IF YOU'RE GONNA DO ANYTHING IN HOUSING, YOU NEED TO SAVE MON TOPLESS BECAUSE WE ARE BEING DISPLACED. LIKE, LIKE YOU WOULD NEVER SEE ANYONE DISPLACED. WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, OVER HALF A MILLION DOLLAR HOMES BEING BUILT. WE HAVE THE HIGHEST AMOUNT OF DEMOLITION OF HOMES IS IN MONTOPOLIS. IF YOU LOOK AT THE WHOLE STUDY. SO I, I UNDERSTAND THIS, TRYING TO GET A WHOLE PARK, BUT YOU KNOW, IT'S LIKE THAT'S NOT REALLY WHAT OUR COMMUNITY NEEDS. MM-HMM . OUR COMMUNITY NEEDS HOUSING. MM-HMM . AND SO THE LOT IS 1.9 ACRES, CORRECT? YES. SO HOW MANY AND WHAT IS THE CURRENT ZONING DESIGNATION? SINGLE FAMILY, AND IT WAS CIVIC, BUT THEN THEY SAID THAT SOME WAY LONG THE TIME NEVER, I HAD NEVER HAD IT HAPPEN, BUT THEY SAID IT WAS A GR THERE, THERE'S THIS ONE LITTLE LOT THAT IS GR BUT ALL THE REST IS SINGLE FAMILY. OKAY. SO IT'S ALREADY ZONED SINGLE FAMILY. YES. SO YOU'RE NOT PROPOSING A REZONING NO. YOU'RE JUST PROPOSING THE CITY PURCHASE IT. RIGHT. OKAY. YEAH, I MEAN, I GUESS TO COMMISSIONER ER'S POINT, I'M NOT AWARE OF ANY CITY INITIATIVES OR MECHANISMS CURRENTLY THAT HAVE ANY KIND OF SINGLE FAMILY PUBLIC HOUSING OPTION. I'D LOVE TO SEE IT. UM, BUT I'M JUST TRYING TO THINK THROUGH THE NEXT STEPS, LIKE HOW CAN WE CREATE, UM, A MAP, A ROADMAP FOR WHAT YOU'RE PROPOSING IN IMPRACTICAL TERMS? DO YOU HAVE ANY THOUGHTS ON THAT? WELL, YOU KNOW, THAT PROJECT, WE'RE IN THE PROJECT CONNECT ANTI DISPLACEMENT ZONE, AND SO THERE'S MILLIONS OF DOLLARS FOR LAND ACQUISITION ALSO THERE. UH, AND SO, BUT THE THING IS WITH THE PROJECT CONNECT ACQUISITION, THEY'RE BUILDING AT 60 TO 80% MEDIUM FAMILY INCOME. AND SO WE'RE TRYING TO GET AT A LOWER, LIKE 50 AND BELOW MEDIAN FAMILY INCOME, UM, TO DO THE HOUSING IN THAT PARTICULAR PROPERTY. AND I THINK IF YOU LOOK AT HABITAT FOR HUMANITY AND THE HOUSING THAT IT'S BUILT THERE, UH, IT'S PROBABLY ALMOST ABOUT THE SAME AMOUNT. AND IF YOU SEE THE AMOUNT OF HOUSING THAT THEY'VE BEEN ABLE TO BUILD AT, I THINK THAT THEY BUILT MAYBE 15, UM, JUST RECENTLY, MAYBE ABOUT THREE OR FOUR YEARS AGO. UH, SO THEY DID, UM, WHAT THEY DID WITH, I CALL 'EM THE TREE HOUSES WHERE THEY, THEY'RE SMALLER AND THEY GO UP, UH, BUT THEY'RE MADE FOR FAMILIES. AND SO I, I SEE THAT KIND OF DEVELOPMENT, THE SAME THING THAT HABITAT FOR HUMANITY, IF YOU WANNA LOOK AT THAT, YOU KNOW, UH, THAT IS POSSIBLE, UH, TO BE DONE. AND IT IS SOMETHING THAT'S REALLY AFFORDABLE AND OWNERSHIP TO, TO THE RESIDENTS THAT HAVE NOW MOVED INTO. UM, YEAH. I'M TRYING TO THINK IF IT WAS SECRETARY SIER OR COMMISSIONER BRIMER WHO ALSO ASKED YOU, YOU REFERENCED HABITAT FOR HUMANITY. DO YOU FORESEE, UH, A PARTNER WHO COULD HELP IN THIS INITIATIVE? YEAH, LIKE I SAID, THERE'S GNDC THAT'S DONE A LOT OF HOUSING THERE. AND THEN THERE'S HABITAT, UH, FOR HUMANITY. AND ACTUALLY HAKA CAME IN AND IS DOING, BUT THEY'RE DOING APARTMENTS AGAIN. THEY'RE DOING APARTMENTS, UH, WITH ANOTHER DEVELOPER, UH, IN THE AREA. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. YEAH, I'M JUST, UM, CHEWING ON THIS AND, AND THINKING ABOUT THE PRACTICALITY OF IT. UM, I GUESS MORE TO, TO SECRETARY KASHI'S POINT, SO ON 1.9 ACRES, HOW MANY HOMES WOULD YOU PROPOSE? AND [01:35:01] I'M WONDERING IF, IF THERE CAN BE SOME KIND OF SETUP WHERE THERE IS EITHER A FOOD FOREST OR A COMMUNITY GARDEN OR A GREEN SPACE IN, IN THE CENTER. OOPS, I'M SORRY. IN THE CENTER OF THEM TO, TO FURTHER MITIGATE THE EROSION IN THE HEAT AND THE FLOODING THROUGH SOME PLANTING. I'M SURE THERE'LL ALWAYS BE PLANTED. I, I DON'T, I DIDN'T COME PREPARED TO DO, TO GO AND THEN MEASURE HOW MANY OF THE HOUSES YOU COULD PUT ON THAT PARTICULAR, UH, ACRES MM-HMM . AND WHAT TYPE I JUST, I, I TALK ABOUT SIAD BECAUSE IT HAS IT, AND IT HAS THAT OPEN SPACE WHERE, UH, THEY HAVE A LITTLE GREEN SPACE THERE BECAUSE IT'S A CIRCLE AND PEOPLE ARE LIVING AROUND IT. UH, WHAT IF THEY HAVEN'T REALLY PLANT THERE, IT'S JUST, YOU KNOW, GREEN GREENERY GROWING THERE. BUT THAT IS THE OTHER POSSIBILITY. BUT I KNOW THAT THEY DIDN'T DO, THEY DIDN'T BUILD THOSE HOUSES AT 80% IMPERVIOUS COVER. MM-HMM . OKAY. AND IT WAS BUILT FOR FAMILIES, SO THEY HAVE YARDS. RIGHT. UM, CAN YOU REMIND ME, DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE, UM, ALLOWABLE IMPERVIOUS COVER IS? IF IT'S 45% FOR SINGLE FAMILY. OKAY. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. I, YEAH, I DON'T KNOW THAT I HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS RIGHT NOW. ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS? DO YOU HAVE THOUGHTS, COMMENTS? QUESTIONS? COMMISSIONER FLURY? SO IF WE FIND A WAY TO ASSURE THAT IT STAYS SINGLE FAMILY HOUSING, SO IT SOUNDS LIKE IT'S A, A THREAT OF DEVELOPER WOULD CHANGE THE CODE AND THEN MORE IMPERVIOUS COVER COULD GO IN THAT WE WE'RE REALLY JUST TRYING TO ASSURE THAT THE CITY DOESN'T MAKE THAT CHANGE. I DON'T KNOW HOW WE DO THAT, BUT THAT WOULD, THE, THE REDUCTION IN IMPERVIOUS COVER WOULD SEEM TO MEET ALL OF OUR ENVIRONMENTAL, A LOT OF OUR ENVIRONMENTAL GOALS AS FAR AS, THAT'S HOW I SEE THE, THE, THE LINK OF THE CITY PURCHASING IT IS TO ASSURE GREEN SPACE, EVEN THOUGH THERE'S, THERE'S A RESIDENT ON THE HOUSE. UM, YEAH, I WOULD SAY WE'VE HEARD ON THIS COMMISSION A LOT. SORRY, ONE OTHER THING OF, UM, WE NEED AFFORDABLE HOUSING FOR LARGER FAMILIES. YOU KNOW, IT'S REALLY HARD FOR FOUR BEDROOM APARTMENTS. WE JUST DON'T HEAR IT WHEN IT COMES UP. AND SO THIS IS A WAY OF, OF ACHIEVING THAT. YEAH, I THINK IMPERVIOUS COVER LIMITS AND HEIGHT RESTRICTIONS KIND OF ARE WHAT I WOULD GUESS IS LIKE THE WAY TO SORT OF PRESERVE SINGLE FAMILY HOUSING CHARACTER OF A NEIGHBORHOOD MAYBE. I DON'T KNOW. I MEAN, I'M JUST, YOU KNOW, THAT'S MY GUESS. YEAH. AND, AND WITH SINGLE FAMILY ZONING DESIGNATION ANYWAY, I THINK THERE IS A BAKED IN HEIGHT LIMIT, RIGHT? COMMISSIONER BRIMER. YEAH, I WAS GONNA SAY THAT, UH, I JUST PULLED UP THE RESOLUTION HERE. UH, I LIKE THE WAY IT'S PHRASED BECAUSE IT'S SUFFICIENTLY GENERIC THAT IT PUTS THE RESPONSIBILITY ON COUNCIL TO FIGURE OUT A WAY TO DO IT. I DON'T THINK, I MEAN, PERSONALLY I DON'T THINK I HAVE THE EXPERTISE OR KNOWLEDGE TO REALLY DRIVE A SPECIFIC SOLUTION TO THIS. UM, YOU KNOW, THAT THAT GETS TO WHERE WE WANNA BE, YOU KNOW, WHERE THE COMMUNITY WANTS TO BE, WHERE I WANT IT TO BE, YOU KNOW, UH, BUT I THINK THE THEREFORE ENCAPSULATE EVERYTHING, YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT WE WANT. I THINK WE COULD ADD THINGS LIKE, LIKE SOMEONE JUST REFERENCED LIKE HEIGHT RESTRICTIONS OR I KNOW SOMETHING LIKE THAT, SO WE COULD ADD SOME DETAIL ON THERE, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW THAT WE COULD ADD ANYTHING ELSE THAT'S MORE PRESCRIPTIVE THAN WHAT'S WHAT'S HERE. ALRIGHT, THANK YOU. ANY OTHER COMMENTS BEFORE WE HEAR THE UPDATED RECOMMENDATION THAT WE HAVE? OKAY. UM, YEAH. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH WITH THAT SECRETARY QURESHI. IF YOUR VOICE FEELS UP TO IT, IF YOU COULD READ THE MOTION OTHERWISE I'M HAPPY TO. WELL, YOU KNOW, I'M GOING TO THE SPURS WATCH PARTY AFTER THIS, SO I'M SURE I'LL BE, UH, DEFINITELY CONSUMING A LOT OF LIBATIONS THERE. SO I GUESS, YOU KNOW, MIGHT AS WELL MIGHT AS WELL GET THIS ALL OUT OF THE WAY EARLY. UM, YEAH, SO WE'RE ASKED, THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION WAS GIVEN A PRESENTATION REGARDING AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL POTENTIALLY BUYING PROPERTY LOCATED AT 62 0 2 AND 62 0 4, UH, CADDY STREET 1616 0 4 16 0 6, 6 0 8 16. 10 16 12, AND 1614 MONTOPOLIS DRIVE AND 60, UH, 2 0 5 62 11 AND 62 15 FAIRWAY STREET. AND WHEREAS THE MONTOPOLIS AREA HAS A HIGH CONCENTRATION OF MULTIFAMILY COMMERCIAL INDUSTRIAL ZONING, AND WHEREAS BUILDINGS UNDER THESE ZONING CATEGORIES HAVE BEEN CONSTRUCTED AT THE PERMITTED RESTRICTION OF 80% IMPERVIOUS COVERAGE, WORSENING THE URBAN HIGHLAND URBAN HEAT ISLAND EFFECT, UM, EROSION OF THE COLORADO [01:40:01] RIVER AND FLOODING WITHOUT NATURAL DRAINAGE FROM GREEN SPACES THAT ONCE HAVE ON TOP OF US AS ONE OF THE MOST UNDEVELOPED NEIGHBORHOODS IN EAST AUSTIN. THEREFORE, BEING NOW RESOLVED AT THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION SUPPORTS AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL PURCHASING THE MON TOPLESS FAIRWAY PROPERTIES RESPONSIBLY DEVELOP COMMUNITY FOCUSED, ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY, AFFORDABLE HOUSING GREEN SPACE IN THE AREA TO BENEFIT THE MON TOPLESS COMMUNITY IN SOUTHEAST AUSTIN. THANK YOU. WE HAVE A MOTION. IS THERE A SECOND? I'LL SECOND. I'LL SECOND. SECONDED BY SULLIVAN. HEARD HIM FIRST I BEAT, UH, . PERFECT. THAT'S ONLY BECAUSE I HAD TO PRESS UNMUTE . NOW THAT WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND, IS THERE ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION BEFORE WE GO TO A VOTE? ALL RIGHT, WITH THAT, LET'S DO A ROLL CALL. VOTE. COMMISSIONER BRIMER PROVE. COMMISSIONER CHANG. SET FOUR. COMMISSIONER FLURRY FOUR. COMMISSIONER MORRISON. FOUR. SECRETARY RESI. FOUR. COMMISSIONER SULLIVAN. FOUR. COMMISSIONER FIERRO. FOUR. I'M ALSO FOUR. SO THAT PASSES UNANIMOUSLY. THANK YOU ALL FOR COMING. ALRIGHT, SO NEXT [6. Update from the Urban Forestry Committee regarding the meeting on May 13, 2026.] WE'LL GO TO COMMITTEE UPDATES. NUMBER SIX, UPDATE FROM THE URBAN FORESTRY COMMITTEE REGARDING THE MEETING ON MAY 13TH, 2026. COMMISSIONER BRIER, YOU ARE UP. OH GOSH, I DIDN'T KNOW I WAS GONNA BE TESTED. I SHOULD HAVE READ TO THE BOTTOM OF THE AGENDA. UH, SO WE HAD A MEETING AND UH, THE PRIMARY TOPIC WAS, UH, TO MOVE FORWARD WITH, UH, COMMISSIONER, UH, LUKI TRYING TO, OR, YOU KNOW, TAKING THE LEAD IN DEVELOPING A CITYWIDE EFFORT TO GET A TREE PLANTING GOING BASED, UH, BROADLY ON WHAT HE DID IN HIS COMMUNITY SEVERAL MONTHS AGO. AND SO WE'RE TRYING TO GET, UH, SOME IDEAS FROM THE COMMISSIONERS ON URBAN FORESTRY AND HOPEFULLY HE'LL PUT SOMETHING TOGETHER THAT HE CAN FORWARD TO US, THAT WE CAN ALSO FORWARD TO NICOLE TO DISTRIBUTE TO THE, UH, ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION AS A WHOLE TO GET FURTHER INPUT AS TO MOVE FORWARD ON THAT. SO THAT'S THE PRIMARY OUTPUT OF THE LAST MEETING. OKAY, THANK YOU. UM, ALL RIGHT, ANY OTHER THOUGHTS, COMMENTS ON THAT? ALL RIGHT, HEARING NONE, LET'S [FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS] GO AHEAD AND GO TO FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. ALL RIGHT. HEARING, OH, I WILL, I, I'LL MENTION THAT, UM, I ASKED AT THE LAST MEETING ABOUT, I TALKED TO YOU GUYS ABOUT WHAT'S ON THE BOND. UM, IT MIGHT NOT HAPPEN THIS YEAR. IT MIGHT BE PUT OFF FOR ANOTHER TWO YEARS, BUT I CAN AT LEAST TELL YOU WHAT THE BOND ELECTION ADVISORY TASK FORCE CAME UP. AND THAT'S GONNA BE NE ON OUR NEXT MEETING. PERFECT. I LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING THAT. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT, WITH THAT, THE TIME IS 70 , 7:44 PM AND WE ARE ADJOURNED. SEE YOU ALL NEXT TIME. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.